By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi on Wednesday insisted that a fleet of high-end vehicles linked to attempted murder accused businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was never meant to operate as an official blue-lights convoy, but were instead donated for marketing purposes.
Yet the vehicles, a BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3-Series and VW Golf, ended up registered in the municipality’s fleet and fitted with emergency blue lights, despite being unbranded and lacking any legitimate council-approved donation process.
Testifying at the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, Mkhwanazi defended his relationship with Matlala and the controversial role of CAT VIP Protection Services in city events, particularly the Ekurhuleni State of the City Address (SOCA).
Under oath, Mkhwanazi claimed the unbranded vehicles were intended to “promote” CAT VIP as a high-end security provider.
He said he had been informed by his Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) subordinate officers that Matlala wanted to replace his existing fleet with more “upmarket” models, and that the EMPD might benefit from receiving the older vehicles.
He testified that he engaged the EMPD’s head of fleet, Chris Steyn, who advised that a formal letter was needed to legitimise any donation.
However, the commission has previously heard that no such letter existed and no donation process was ever initiated.
Instead, the vehicles were quietly absorbed into the EMPD fleet through Steyn’s office, a move former employee relations head Xolani Nciza described as “a working relationship between the donor and Mkhwanazi”, not a municipal transaction.
Nciza noted that the EMPD bypassed the city’s gift and donations policy, which requires vetting donors to avoid aligning government with questionable entities.
The cars were registered under the city and equipped with blue lights, a decision tied directly to Mkhwanazi’s authorisation.
Turning to CAT VIP’s involvement in municipal events, Mkhwanazi repeatedly emphasised that the EMPD was forced to provide additional VIP protection to “principals”, including the mayor, speaker and senior officials, due to a spike in crime and political instability following the 2021 elections.
He revealed that his relationship with Matlala began between 2021 and 2022, initially via Medicare24’s Mike van Wyk, who allegedly praised CAT VIP as having “former SANDF Task Force and SAPS tactical members”.
Although he initially claimed to have met Matlala in 2022, he corrected himself mid-sentence to “sometime in 2021”, a significant detail as the contentious blue-lights memorandum with Medicare24 dates back to October 2021.
In a 4 April 2022 report already before the commission, Mkhwanazi admitted requesting eight specialised VIP members from CAT VIP to back up internal security teams ahead of the SOCA, saying he had received intelligence of planned disruptions allegedly linked to African National Congress structures.
He said he personally convened an urgent meeting on 29 March 2022 to address the threats, concluding that both inner and outer perimeters required reinforcement.
He told the commission CAT VIP’s eight armed officers provided this support at no cost.
But suspended EMPD Chief Jabulani Mapiyeye testified previously that he had spotted “armed men in suits” at the SOCA and was told by a deputy that he “should speak to Mkhwanazi”.
When confronted with an email referring to the Director of Specialised Services approving the plan, it emerged that this director was Mkhwanazi himself, meaning he had authorised his own request while writing about himself in the third person.
Commissioner Mbuyiseli Madlanga pressed Mkhwanazi on how exactly he came to know Matlala and van Wyk.
Mkhwanazi said he visited Medicare24’s offices where portraits of the directors hung on the wall, including one labelled “Vusimuzi Matlala”.
The commission noted that records from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission show Matlala has never been a director of Medicare24.
Throughout, Mkhwanazi portrayed Matlala as a helpful figure who provided security support and sought to donate vehicles, at one point insisting that former EMPD deputy chief Revo Spies “blocked” the donation.
The commission continues.
INSIDE POLITICS