By Marcus Moloko
Suspended acting Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi returned to the Madlanga Commission for the second day of testimony with a quick mention that he could not afford jail time.
If his gulping of water defined day one, day two saw Mkhwanazi clearly stating that he could not afford to go to jail and leave his children behind.
On day one, Mkhwanazi appeared nervous, sweating profusely, and clutching his water bottle as if it were a lifeline.
Day two brought a shift in tone. Mkhwanazi, perhaps a little calmer, brought by his survival of the first day, declared with dramatic emphasis that: “I cannot afford to go to jail and leave my kids.”
The commissioners quickly reminded him that no one had suggested prison, stressing that the Madlanga Commission was not a court but a body tasked with making recommendations.
Mkhwanazi insisted that recommendations could impact him gravely, and his fear was not misplaced. His proximity to decisions, his introductions of businessman and alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala to senior officials, and his role in operational planning, all pointed to potentially damaging implications.
The commission is probing whether Mkhwanazi may be the crucial link to unravelling the Cat Matlala ‘blue lights’ saga.
Evidence already suggests that he facilitated Matlala’s entry into official structures, even if he denies authorising the lights or branding municipal vehicles.
The unwrapping of this link could expose how CAT VIP Security slipped into policing operations under the guise of “free” services, and whether Mkhwanazi’s actions were naive, complicit, or calculated.
Three things Mkhwanazi said on day one:
- “I was told CAT VIP members were ex-special task force and highly skilled.”
- “CAT VIP offered its services for free as part of what I believed was a marketing strategy.”
- “I did not install blue lights. I did not see the vehicles physically. I did not brand those cars.”
These statements, delivered between gulps of water, painted a picture of a man both defensive and defiant. He conceded a close working relationship with Matlala but attempted to distance himself from the scandal’s most incriminating details.
The contradictions remain. How could he introduce Matlala to the city’s highest office, include CAT VIP in the city’s operational plan, and then claim ignorance of the vehicles at the centre of the scandal?
The commission’s challenge is to untangle whether Mkhwanazi was simply overwhelmed by political pressures and opportunistic actors, or whether he knowingly opened the door for Matlala’s empire to infiltrate municipal policing.
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