Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department acting head Julius Mkhwanazi admitted on Wednesday that he refused to submit his fingerprints for criminal record checks during a department-wide vetting process in 2022.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria, Mkhwanazi said he and nearly 200 officers under his command in the Specialized Services Division declined to participate because an outside company conducted the process rather than a government agency.
“I said let’s do it with a recognised institution, a government institution, where the process won’t be manipulated,” Mkhwanazi told the commission.
The vetting process, ordered in 2021 by then-EMPD Chief Isaac Mapiyeye, required all officers to submit fingerprints for verification through the South African Police Service database. Mkhwanazi argued that as a senior officer, only the State Security Agency should handle his records.
“Let State Security come here so we can give it to them. I won’t give my fingerprints to any junior,” he said.
Retired Deputy EMPD Chief Revo Spies testified last month that the process ultimately screened 3,762 officers. Of those vetted, 275 had previous criminal convictions and an additional 100 were awaiting trial for offences including murder, rape, robbery and fraud.
Spies told the commission that Mkhwanazi’s refusal had no lawful basis. The directive had been formally signed by Mapiyeye and communicated to all divisional heads.
By the time Spies retired in early 2025, no member of Mkhwanazi’s division had undergone fingerprint vetting. The process was halted after intervention from the city’s human resources department, Spies testified.
Mkhwanazi was suspended by the City of Ekurhuleni on Nov. 11 following testimony at the commission linking him to alleged corruption, irregular appointments and connections to accused organized crime figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
The Madlanga Commission, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is investigating allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Mkhwanazi’s testimony continues.
