Suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he does not remember a controversial video clip in which Medicare24 director Mike van Wyk fanned himself with a thick wad of hundred-rand notes.
The cash was allegedly a payment offer to Mkhwanazi to grant confirmation letters stating that Cat Security Protection Services was working with EMPD, thereby preventing “his boss,” and alleged crime mastermind Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala from facing legal trouble for travelling in vehicles fitted with blue lights.
In the video Van Wyk said: “Hey Julius, I hope you have a warm day like we have here. This fan of mine is not working so lekker (well). I don’t know if it is because it is hot and I am not sure what it is doing. Anyway, I have another one here.”
He ended the video clip by telling Mkhwanazi that he would spend the money but Mkhwanazi needed to tell him what to do with it.
When asked if he recalled viewing the video, Mkhwanazi said: “I do not even remember what he is talking about.”
Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga interjected, saying: “A video like that, there is no way you would not remember if you have seen it.”
Mkhwanazi denied receiving money from Van Wyk, describing him as the type of person who would never give away money, saying ‘he is a businessman who always wants to receive’.
He said Van Wyk would offer services instead of giving cash directly to individuals.
Co-commissioner Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC pointed out that Mkhwanazi appeared to be arranging for Van Wyk to receive confirmation letters, which would grant him and others the power to move in and around Ekurhuleni on the basis that they are helping the city “and as part of that scheme he is offering you money”.
“That is what that video suggests because he says ‘call me and tell me where we are going,'” she said.Baloyi said the money stunt shown in the video suggested it was a payment to Mkhwanazi, who flatly denied the proposition during his testimony.
WhatsApp chats between Mkhwanazi and Van Wyk revealed that Mkhwanazi rubber-stamped Van Wyk’s proposal to establish an ongoing relationship with the EMPD through a memorandum of understanding.
Mkhwanazi has been accused of drafting an unapproved memorandum of understanding between CAT Security Protection Services and EMPD and registering vehicles in the municipality’s name.
In a 2021 chat, Van Wyk suggested the contents Mkhwanazi should include in a letter detailing the establishment of “an endless relationship” between EMPD and Anubis Protection Services.
The proposed letter read: “This letter serves to confirm that the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) under the command of acting deputy municipal police commissioner Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi of specialised services has an endless working relationship with and memorandum of understanding with Medicare24 PTY (Ltd) and Anubis Protection Services to assist EMPD officers in any VIP protection, security and medical emergency services, including the Covid-19 pandemic in and out of the City of Ekhurhuleni.”
Evidence leader Advocate Mehlape Sello pointed out that Mkhwanazi subsequently used the same wording suggested by Van Wyk in the draft letter he penned regarding Cat VIP, and not Anubis Protection Services as Van Wyk had suggested.
The letter also listed the number of vehicles that Matlala pledged to donate to the City of Ekurhuleni.
Mkhwanazi previously disputed the draft letter, but Sello said on Thursday that Mkhwanazi’s denial lacked basis because the letter’s contents matched the chat Mkhwanazi received from Van Wyk and used the same wording.
The commission was previously told that Mkhwanazi allegedly signed two memoranda of understanding with Matlala-linked companies Medicare24 and CAT VIP Security, allowing private vehicles to be registered as municipal vehicles and fitted with blue lights.
The municipality had publicly said it had no formal agreement with the companies, raising questions about Mkhwanazi’s authority to establish these relationships.
He further communicated to Van Wyk that his company’s employees were loaded onto a system as peace officers, but not as city employees.
The commission, however, pointed out that Van Wyk’s people were not legally appointed peace officers who had been issued peace officer cards.
Mkhwanazi did not rule out the possibility of people still holding onto the peace officer cards in Ekurhuleni, despite the arrangement having collapsed.
Mkhwanazi’s testimony will resume on a date still to be determined by the commission.