Madlanga Commission | Mkhwanazi rejects kickback claims in precious stones case

Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief, Julius Mkhwanazi, has denied allegations that he received money linked to the alleged theft of precious stones in February 2023.

This follows testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday by Witness K, who alleged that she shared R110,000 with Mkhwanazi and three other individuals after they planned to steal sugilite stones valued at an estimated R14.9 million from their owner.

Testifying on Wednesday, Mkhwanazi rejected the claims, saying Witness K’s version of events was incorrect. He maintained that the recovery of the stones formed part of a joint police operation with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), and that the stones were handed over to a police station after being seized.

Witness K, however, told the commission that Mkhwanazi instructed constables Kesher-Lee Stols and Norman McKenzie, together with civilian Eitiaan van der Walt, to steal the stones from the owner under the guise of a search-and-seizure operation.

She further alleged that she, Mkhwanazi, Stols, McKenzie and van der Walt later met at a car wash the following day, where they allegedly shared the R110,000 after exchanging the stones with an informant.

“I deny meeting at the car wash. I don’t know which car wash. I deny anything that has to do with money. There is no way that I will stand here and say the stones were taken and they are somewhere and they have been taken by somebody in the city of Johannesburg because I even submitted my statement,” said Mkhwanazi.

Witness K further told the commission that Mkhwanazi was, at the time, desperate for money and needed to make quick cash.

Mkhwanazi also testified that a police clearance certificate allegedly issued to alleged underworld figure, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, for use as a peacekeeping officer, is fraudulent.

The commission heard evidence from the South African Police Service (SAPS), which outlined security features of a legitimate Police Clearance Certificate (PCC). According to the affidavit, each certificate is assigned a unique reference number when an application is registered and a transaction number when it is printed, and the two must correspond.

However, the certificate linked to Matlala reportedly contained discrepancies between the reference and transaction numbers. Investigators found that the reference number was linked to a different transaction issued to another individual on 19 August 2021.

After the affidavit was presented, Mkhwanazi conceded that the certificate appeared to be fraudulent.

The commission also heard that the reference number on Matlala’s certificate does not exist in the SAPS system and does not match with the transaction number, suggesting that no application was ever processed.

It further emerged that Mkhwanazi issued peace officer cards before obtaining formal approval for the initiative.

This followed WhatsApp exchanges between him and Medicare24 CEO, Mike van Wyk, suggesting officers from Van Wyk’s company, Anubis Pty Ltd, would perform operational duties under EMPD.

A screenshot presented to the commission showed Mkhwanazi asking whether Van Wyk, could collect the peace officer cards on 14 February 2022.

Mkhwanazi insisted that all individuals had undergone thorough training before receiving the cards.

“Before this thing started we had training that is not appearing here in the chats. The was trainings where, which was run by the training division that is why they were able to detect before training that others had criminal records. I can’t recall but I know that they are those that collected, those that were specifically trained,” he said.

He further claimed the initiative was never fully implemented due to changes in Ekurhuleni’s municipal leadership, which disrupted the process. He also said senior EMPD management was aware of the recruitment plan and that Van Wyk had presented the initiative.

The commission heard a voice note from Van Wyk asking whether the plan would proceed, as well as a reference to an image of documents Mkhwanazi said contained training material. The message was reportedly sent about a month after the cards had already been issued.

Mkhwanazi further accused the Madlanga Commission of unequal treatment of witnesses, saying others were allowed to fully present their evidence while he was not.

He also accused former EMPD Deputy Chief, Revo Spies, of lying under oath and portraying him as a criminal, saying the evidence amounted to character assassination.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao