By Marcus Moloko
“A photograph proves proximity. In isolation, it’s neutral. In context, alongside MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding), IPID findings, financial trails, and sworn testimony, it becomes corroboration. The issue isn’t who stood next to whom. It’s whether public authority was leveraged for private benefit.”
Those were the words of an X user, @Gadfly342043, reacting to a photograph obtained by broadcaster eNCA that has reignited scrutiny around suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and businessman and alleged underworld figure, Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.
The photograph was allegedly taken during planning for Ekurhuleni’s 2022 State of the City Address and shows Matlala standing with Mkhwanazi and two other people, one of whom appears to be an EMPD officer.
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A photograph alone does not prove collusion. But it has resurfaced at a moment when the Madlanga Commission’s work, and the political fallout around it, is already tightening around the Ekurhuleni cluster of allegations: memoranda of understanding, the use of a private security company at a major municipal event, and claims about the improper authorisation of emergency blue lights for private vehicles.
Mkhwanazi is not only a prominent witness at the commission’s hearings; he has also been singled out for follow-up action at the highest level.
In January, President Cyril Ramaphosa named him among the officials referred for further investigation in the commission’s interim report.
The commission has heard evidence that Mkhwanazi was the only signatory on two MOUs with companies linked to Matlala — Medicare24 and CAT VIP Protection — which would have allowed Medicare24 to use red lights as an emergency medical service and CAT VIP Protection to use blue lights in the metro.
Mkhwanazi has also been questioned about the reported use of Matlala-linked CAT VIP security during the 2022 State of the City Address.
Mkhwanazi has pushed back on the allegations. He has acknowledged the MOUs were wrongly authorised in the manner alleged, while disputing other claims about how the arrangements were implemented and what benefits, if any, flowed from them.
Initially, Matlala was described as a “brother” by Mkhwanazi, who later accused him of dishonesty, perjury, and fabricating evidence.
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Mkhwanazi explicitly accused Matlala of lying under oath during his own testimony and claimed that Matlala’s efforts to provide vehicles to the City of Ekurhuleni were unsolicited donations that were only in the “initial stages of being processed”.
Mkhwanazi further alleged that certain claims regarding his involvement in Matlala’s operations were part of propaganda and “character assassination” intended to discredit him.
Matlala’s testimony to Parliament’s ad hoc committee painted Mkhwanazi as a facilitator for his private security operations.
Matlala claimed he provided Mkhwanazi with cash payments on multiple occasions, which Mkhwanazi later admitted were for “petrol money” or small loans.
He alleged Mkhwanazi facilitated the unlawful registration of his private vehicles as municipal property to allow for the fitting of police blue lights and branding.
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The issue is not merely who stood next to whom in a photograph. Rather, it is whether municipal authority and police resources were manipulated for private gain.
