EMPD Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi fired after disciplinary process

Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief, Julius Mkhwanazi, has been fired following mounting pressure and a string of criminal cases.

The City of Ekurhuleni has terminated Mkhwanazi’s employment after an internal disciplinary process, with the city citing seriousness of the allegations and concerns around the impact on public trust.

Mkhwanazi is facing charges in several criminal cases, including fraud and corruption, the alleged theft of precious stones worth R14.9 million, and the murder of Brakpan businessman, Emmanuel Mbense.

He has also been implicated in alleged criminal activity during testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson, Phakamile Mbengashe, announced Mkhwanzi’s dismissal.

“There were also issues of reputational risk to the city, so the city manager felt that it was important that we sever this relationship. The decision was taken by council and because he is not a senior manager it is an administrative decision that was taken by the city manager. It’s an ongoing process. We are first waiting for the the final report from the Madlanga Commission that will have recommendations, so if there are further disciplinaries that will take place, we will follow suit. As we have always said, we support the work of the Madlanga Commission and there is a lot happening so we are just gonna proceed with what comes out of the commission,” Mbengashe said.

But while one senior official has now lost his job, the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is being warned that removing individuals may be easier than fixing the system that allowed problems to persist in the first place.

Meanwhile, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairperson Professor, Somadoda Fikeni, says the commission should brace itself for resistance when its recommendations eventually move from paper to implementation.

Fikeni says South Africa has no shortage of laws and policies, the bigger challenge is ensuring that they are implemented effectively.

He says efforts to enforce compliance can face resistance within government, making it harder to hold institutions accountable.

And his warning is blunt: policies mean little if they remain gathering dust while the problems they were designed to solve continue.

Fikeni describes this as the “political economy of inefficiency” – a situation where there is an appearance of action, but implementation falls short.

He points to the Border Management Authority (BMA), which he says received only four drones despite requesting 80.

At the same time, he says billions of rand remain unspent across government departments.

For Fikeni, the issue is therefore not simply whether government has money, but whether available resources actually reach where they are needed.

And then there is the rule of law.

Fikeni says laws cannot do the job if political considerations are allowed to take precedence.

He warns that when wrongdoing goes unchecked and accountability fails, a culture of impunity can take hold, potentially eroding citizens’ confidence in those entrusted with running the country.

“People will simply say it’s better to do nothing; it’s better to be compliant; it’s better to be sick on the day when the decision has to be made; precisely because the accountability and oversight system has failed them. Hence, I said even if you were to have a new law now, if they know you are going to have people without impunity, nothing happens to me, and I am protected, or I am a senior police officer, or a political figure and so forth. Laws on their own do not make that much of a difference, they simply help enhance the system,” Professor Fikeni said.

Fikeni is also calling for South Africa to rethink how it vets people entrusted with positions of power.

He says vetting risks becoming little more than a “box-ticking exercise”, rather than the rigorous scrutiny it is supposed to be.

His message to the commission?

Learn from countries where vetting is treated as a serious safeguard, because when the wrong people slip through the cracks, the consequences can extend far beyond one institution.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao