Allegations of a cover-up against Acting EMPD Chief at the Madlanga Commission

Former Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Commissioner, Revo Spies delivered explosive testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday with serious allegations of a 2022 murder and subsequent cover-up against Acting EMPD Head, Julius Mkhwanazi.

Spies highlighted several criminal cases against Mkhwanazi and EMPD officers previously under his command. He testified that Mkhwanazi formerly led the now-disbanded SWAT Unit at the EMPD, which he claims was involved in at least five criminal matters related to murder, theft, and corruption.

READ: Whistleblower murdered after exposing unlawful EMPD operation, Inquiry told

According to Spies, in April 2022, members of the EMPD, allegedly attached to the SWAT team managed by Mkhwanazi, murdered an individual during an interrogation in Brakpan.

Spies detailed the horrific method allegedly used: "They tortured this person where they used a method called tubing. Which is a piece of rubber that you pull over a person’s face and you suffocate the person. Then the next moment, this person, they killed him."

He alleged that Mkhwanazi was called to the scene immediately afterwards.

"From the scene they called Brigadier Mkhwanazi and he arrived at the scene in a white Golf. He then proceeded to direct them how to clean the scene."

Spies claimed that the victim's body was then loaded onto the back of a civilian’s bakkie and dumped into a river, where it was later retrieved by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The civilian present with the EMPD officers at the time has since turned state witness, providing the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) with crucial information about the murder.