Behari denies recommending internal probe into EMPD’s Mkhwanazi

Suspended Ekurhuleni Head of Legal Unit, Advocate Kemi Behari testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Suspended Ekurhuleni Head of Legal Unit, Advocate Kemi Behari, has testified at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he did not recommend that another internal investigation be conducted against suspended EMPD Deputy Police Chief Julius Mkhwanazi.

He told the commission that statements from former City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi, which make that suggestion, were untrue.

Behari, who was responding to questions from Commissioner Sandile Khumalo, concluded his testimony on Tuesday.

“The engagement with the City Manager was that we are addressing certain vague issues in the report as per the letters that went out. And when she said he had advised the chief or whatever, I didn’t advise anybody for another internal investigation. I just spoke to the City Manager about whatever the concerns raised as per our engagements internally. Those are the only issues. I never gave city manager any advice to the extent that we said there must be another internal investigation. So, she was not truthful in her evidence. If that is the case, she would have been mistaken or not truthful, but not according to what I gave her.”

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi put it to AdvocateBehari that there is no basis to his comments that Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala sustained a loss in assets when he donated his vehicles to the City of Ekurhuleni.

Behari has told the commission that the vehicles donated by Matlala to the City were sent back to him.

This is despite evidence presented before the commission demonstrating that the vehicles were never handed over to the municipality.

Commissioner Baloyi put it to Behari that Matlala always had control of these vehicles.

“The city is the one that stood to benefit, particularly considering that EMPD had a shortage of vehicles and there seemed to be no effort from the chief of police and senior management to address this. The purpose of the vehicle registration was to increase the number of vehicles to be used by the EMPD. There’s no facts for you to say that. There was no facts whatsoever, not from the documents, not from anything that Brigadier Mkhwanazi said.”

Meanwhile, Suspended Ekurhuleni HR head Linda Gxasheka will no longer testify at the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday. Her testimony has been moved to the 26 and 27 February.

Gxasheka has been accused of shielding suspended Ekhurhuleni Deputy Police Chief Julius Mkhwanazi from facing disciplinary action relating to the blue light saga.

Evidence leader Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube told the commission that the cause of the postponement was due to Gxasheka’s supplementary statement being handed over to them on Monday.

“Chair, yesterday afternoon, we received a supplementary statement from Ms. Gxasheka’s attorneys. It’s 44 pages long. We have not yet had an opportunity to fully prepare on that statement in order for us to do her cross examination. The intention was that we would start with her statement, but due to scheduling issues, we need to reschedule her evidence so that we can start and finish it all in one go.”

A new witness will take the stand at 9:30 am on Wednesday.