By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Ekurhuleni legal head advocate Khemraj “Kemi” Behari’s testimony before the Madlanga Commission came under scrutiny concerning his role in the suspension and investigation of former EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi, with commissioners repeatedly pressing him on why he failed to provide urgent guidance that could have prevented the lapse of the brigadier’s suspension.
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The inquiry’s chairperson, former Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, made it clear that the commission regarded Behari’s conduct as decisive in the trajectory of the case against Mkhwanazi.
“Sitting there now, you tell us that even if a suspension has expired, investigations can continue. You’re telling us that in the witness box. But when Colonel [Hennie] Erasmus came to you for advice, you never told him that,” Madlanga said.
Behari’s evidence resumed after the tea break, and he immediately reiterated his earlier claim that he had been “immensely concerned” about the legal and institutional implications of tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s security company being deeply embedded in the Ekurhuleni State of the City address.
He said the event implicated “the whole upper leadership of the EMPD”, despite former police chief Isaac Mapiyeye previously testifying that he had never authorised the plan and that his signature on the operational document had been forged.
“So apart from implicating the chief, it would implicate the senior, the divisional heads or the deputy chiefs of police in critical matters pertaining to the [2022] State of the City address,” Behari said.
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He added that his concerns extended to questions he believed were unavoidable.
“What was the knowledge? What did you brief the mayor about? It cannot be that Brigadier Mkhwanazi would brief the mayor on critical issues. Why would he be doing that? Why would he have allowed that to have taken place?” Behari asked.
Behari told the commission he had tried to stress to Mapiyeye that responsibility for the fallout would ultimately land on him.
Yet, despite acknowledging what he called “clear legal risks” flowing from Matlala’s involvement, including the alleged forged operational plan, Behari appeared to endorse actions that would effectively block the disciplinary process against Mkhwanazi; who had signed irregular agreements with Matlala-linked companies under the guise of “vehicle donations”, enabling the illegal blue-light fitting scandal later exposed by journalist Jeff Wicks.
The commission pressed him on his apparent reluctance to act when six EMPD officers were criminally charged, as well as his categorical denial that he pressured officials to stop the disciplinary process against Mkhwanazi or seize the docket.
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Behari insisted he had no involvement in the HR processes for the charged officers and rejected claims he weaponised disciplinary systems against EMPD staff who had raised alarms about Mkhwanazi.
He did, however, concede that the brigadier’s alleged promotion and appointment of 60 officers outside proper channels was irregular.
He further distanced himself from the City of Ekurhuleni’s widely criticised response to the damning IPID report that found a “strong fraud and corruption case” against Mkhwanazi.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi described the city’s letter rejecting the IPID findings as a “nonsense document”, with Behari claiming, however, he instructed that the letter not be sent.
Behari confirmed that EMPD official Colonel Hennie Erasmus approached him “for compliance support” shortly before the suspension lapsed.
But instead of advising on the extension, Behari deepened discussions around the merits of the allegations; a diversion that Madlanga said had directly enabled the suspension to expire.
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“Why do you not deal with the imminent expiry?” Madlanga asked.
Behari replied that “suspension is not punitive” and said Mkhwanazi could have been re-suspended.
He later admitted he never told Erasmus any of this and “did not finalise” whether he supported the extension.
“I let it lapse, but the intention was only to see how could we fill the gaps. The intention was never to let it lapse,” Behari said.
The commission further interrogated Behari’s insistence that journalist Jeff Wicks, who first exposed the “blue lights scandal”, was a “complainant” and should have given a formal statement, even though the EMPD itself, through Mapiyeye, was the complainant.
“What did you want Jeff Wicks to say in his statement anymore? Why do you say he’s the complainant?” Baloyi asked.
Madlanga underscored the crux of the commission’s concern: Behari’s extensive 44-page statement evaded the central question of why he failed to provide timely advice that could have preserved Mkhwanazi’s suspension, instead engaging in issues “that had nothing to do with the impending expiry”.
The commission adjourned, with testimony to resume after lunch.
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