By Johnathan Paoli
Former Ekurhuleni City Manager Imogen Mashazi has conceded to a series of oversight failures during her tenure.
She told the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday that she “failed to discipline” senior EMPD officials and “failed to play an oversight role” in the appointment and progression of suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi.
Facing a second day of cross-examination, Mashazi acknowledged that Mkhwanazi’s 2023 appointment process appeared irregular and agreed that, if no competency assessment was done and the interview panel failed to finalise its scoring of all candidates, that would breach proper process.
She also admitted that she approved an additional R200 000 remuneration adjustment requested by Mkhwanazi before he accepted his final offer.
“I concede that the appointment seems irregular. If there was no competency assessment done, then it is irregular,” she said.
Mashazi told the commission she was on leave when the appointment letter was issued and that then-acting City Manager Thokozani Maseko signed the document in her absence.
However, evidence leader and senior counsel Mahlape Sello challenged her assertion that she carried no responsibility, saying that as the accounting officer she ought to have followed up on whether proper processes were followed.
“You should have known whether there was a recommendation to appoint him or not,” Commissioner Sesi Baloyi insisted.
The commission scrutinised a written statement from suspended EMPD Chief Isaac Mapiyeye, submitted to the city and placed before the commission, in which he stated that due process had not been followed in Mkhwanazi’s appointment and that he did not meet the minimum requirements.
Mashazi admitted she did not act on that information.
She further confirmed that she was not part of the selection process involving the suspended deputy chief and insisted that by the time she returned from leave, an acting official had accepted the panel’s recommendations.
Asked why she later approved Mkhwanazi’s request for a higher package despite multiple red flags, Mashazi replied that the proposal “came to my desk and was approved”, adding that she had no independent documentation at the time to show irregularities.
Sello pressed her on claims that Mkhwanazi had been allowed to rise through the EMPD hierarchy despite allegations that his unit refused vetting, that civilians allegedly joined his operations, and that he operated without proper oversight.
Mashazi conceded that “serious allegations” existed but said she had “no formal complaint” and that her ability to act was constrained.
The commissioners rejected this justification.
Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga told Mashazi that as city manager she did not need to wait for a report before enforcing consequence management.
“You are the leader, you are the top administrator. Why would you sit back and wait for a report?” he asked.
Mashazi repeatedly emphasised that “her hands were tied”, saying senior EMPD officials, including Mapiyeye, enjoyed political protection from within the municipality.
But when confronted with the fact that she did not raise several misconduct allegations during key selection processes, she admitted she had failed to record or escalate her concerns.
Sello noted that Mashazi seemed to accept her failures “flippantly”, asking whether she understood the seriousness of not following up on promises made by political office-bearers to provide misconduct reports.
Mashazi conceded that not following up made her fail to act or implement consequence management.
Earlier in proceedings, Mashazi played a video clip, an SABC News insert from 2020, purporting to show how Mapiyeye had “defeated the ends of justice” after allegedly driving under the influence and suppressing the resulting accident report.
But commissioners pointed out that she had been the accounting officer at the time and had taken no action for years afterward.
She eventually admitted that she had failed to discipline the chief of metro police and failed to do oversight on him as the head of department.
The commission continues, with suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu expected to testify later in the afternoon.
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