Mkhwanazi admitted he received three payments totalling R70 000 from the tenderpreneur.
Suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi has denied that payments he received from tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala were bribes linked to his alleged involvement in the blue lights saga.
Mkhwanazi is accused of unlawfully enabling the installation of blue lights on vehicles owned by Matlala without the necessary authorisation.
Blue flashing lights and sirens are reserved exclusively for emergency and South African law-enforcement vehicles.
ALSO READ: How ‘blue lights blesser’ EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi met ‘Ngamla’ Cat Matlala
Any person who fits or uses blue lights or sirens on a private vehicle is guilty of an offence.
The allegations arise from a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Mkhwanazi allegedly signed on 13 October 2021 between the EMPD and Matlala’s company, Cat VIP Protection Services.
This arrangement resulted in Matlala offering to donate four of his older vehicles — a BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3-Series and VW Golf — to the EMPD.
Although the agreement was later cancelled, the four vehicles were eventually registered under the City of Ekurhuleni.
EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi testifies about blue lights
While testifying before the Madlanga commission in Pretoria on Thursday, Mkhwanazi was reluctant to concede that he had facilitated the registration of the four vehicles when questioned by commissioner Sandile Khumalo.
The issue related to documents he handed to EMPD head of fleet Chris Steyn in January 2023 for the registration process.
“I didn’t facilitate installing blue lights or branding those vehicles,” he told the commission.
Mkhwanazi explained that he had given Steyn a “letter of intention” indicating Matlala’s plan to donate the vehicles, along with attachments such as Matlala’s identity document and the vehicles’ registration papers.
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However, he denied that the MOU was included in that submission.
Khumalo pointed out that the act of submitting the documentation amounted to facilitation, which formed the basis of the allegation against him.
“So whatever language that is used, whether it’s facilitation or assistance, this is what you did,” the commissioner said.
Mkhwanazi eventually agreed, briefly covering his mouth as he smiled.
His admission followed repeated denials and triggered laughter in the room.
‘I can’t leave my kids and go to jail’
The EMPD senior official then said that acknowledging facilitation could potentially incriminate him.
He also reiterated that he did not personally install the blue lights on Matlala’s vehicles.
“I can’t leave my kids and go to jail for something that I didn’t do. I may want to be honest and impress you, but not with lies,” Mkhwanazi said.
The commission’s chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga intervened to clarify that no one had mentioned jail.
However, Mkhwanazi insisted that the nature of the commission’s work carried serious consequences.
“This is a commission of inquiry; you’ll be making recommendations. I’ll be sitting somewhere, and I won’t see you. I’ll see you after 10 years or 50 years,” he said.
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Khumalo also clarified that no one was suggesting that Mkhwanazi physically obtained and installed the blue lights on Matlala’s vehicles.
“I don’t think anybody is suggesting that,” he said.
Mkhwanazi, however, maintained that he was the one under scrutiny.
“That side, it’s different.”
Mkhwanazi admits payments from Cat Matlala
Mkhwanazi was later questioned about whether he had received money from Matlala. He described their relationship as very close, saying he treated Matlala “like a brother”, before confirming that he had indeed received financial assistance.
“I won’t lie to you,” he said.
He testified that Matlala occasionally gave him R300 or R500 for petrol.
“Sometimes he would even borrow from me,” Mkhwanazi remarked.
During his three-month suspension in 2023, Mkhwanazi said he struggled financially as he was not receiving overtime payments.
As a result, he sometimes asked Matlala — whom he referred to as “ngamla” (boss) — for amounts ranging between R200 and R1 000 for groceries.
Matlala also assisted with funeral expenses after Mkhwanazi lost a sibling and even attended the funeral.
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Mkhwanazi said he lost three siblings within a period of just over a year, spanning the months before and after his February 2023 suspension.
“I was able to bury one of my siblings.”
He estimated the funeral costs at “maybe R20 000”.
When asked whether he ever received money from Mike Van Wyk, the director of health services company Medicare24, Mkhwanazi insisted he had not, but admitted he had asked Van Wyk for help with school fees for his children.
Van Wyk had apparently promised to assist via a third party, but according to Mkhwanazi, that never happened.
Evidence leader Mahlape Sello then presented an email showing that Mkhwanazi had requested R66 000.
He testified that the school fees bill was never paid.
“I’m still having challenges.”
Mkhwanazi dismisses bribes claim
Further documentation revealed three separate payments: R20 000 from Cat VIP on 5 May 2022, another R20 000 from Matlala’s subsidiary Medicare24 Tshwane District on 18 June 2022, and R30 000 from Black AK Trading — a company linked to Matlala — on 10 December 2022.
Mkhwanazi confirmed that the bank account listed was his own.
“Matlala assisted me a lot during those times.”
Sello suggested that the payments were “in part” gratification for Mkhwanazi’s facilitation of the registration of Matlala’s vehicles to carry blue lights.
Mkhwanazi dismissed this allegation, adding that Matlala had even promised him more money if he managed to secure a police tender — an apparent reference to the R360 million health services contract Matlala later obtained with the South African Police Service (Saps) in June 2024.
“He said ‘when I get this thing ngamla, you’ll retire’… and I was very happy. Even though he didn’t specify, I said [to him] I was praying that you get that tender.”
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