Former Ekurhuleni City manager Maboikanyo Imogen Mashazi and the metro’s suspended head of human resources, Linda Gxasheka, have been released on R50 000 bail each.
This comes after their bail application was postponed on Thursday by the Germiston Magistrate’s Court, where their co-accused, who included the suspended EMPD deputy chief, Julius Mkhwanazi, and the former head of legal in Ekurhuleni, Kemi Behari, were granted bail of R50 000 each on Thursday.
Address verification delayed bail
The reasons for Mashazi’s and Gxasheka’s postponement of their bail application on Thursday were that the police were still verifying their residential addresses.
Reading Mashazi’s affidavit, her lawyer, Johan Eksteen, stated that his client’s address was a home in Brakpan and disputed other properties which the police had linked her with, which included a house in Sanward Park in Boksburg.
In her affidavit, she stated that she and her husband used to live in the Sanward Park house years back and that the property was sold.
Mashazi stated that she was a pensioner and could only afford R10 000, this after the state prosecutor, Adv Nceba Ntelwa, had stated that her bail should be R100 000, citing the nature of charges she faced.
Ntelwa also did the same on the bail of Gxasheka, even though her lawyer, Neo Matsatsi, had stated that she could afford a bail of R20 000.
Mashazi’s mastermind role
According to the charge sheet, Mashazi is accused of being a mastermind in frustrating disciplinary action against Makwanazi over the blue light saga that allegedly involved Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and his VIP security company.
In that regard, Mashazi roped in Behari and Gxasheka to protect Mkhwanazi from facing any disciplinary process.
In turn, Mashazi is accused of giving Behari and Gxasheka a salary increase of R600 000 each from the pay they earned annually at the City, making them earn more than R2.7-million yearly.
Magistrate Trevor Classen instructed all four accused to report themselves to their nearest police stations every Friday between 5am and 8pm in the evening.
The case of the four has been postponed to August 28.
- Former Ekurhuleni City manager Maboikanyo Imogen Mashazi and suspended metro HR head Linda Gxasheka were released on R50,000 bail each after a postponed bail hearing due to address verification delays.
- Co-accused suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and former head of legal Kemi Behari were granted R50,000 bail earlier.
- Mashazi denied ownership of some properties the police linked to her, stating she and her husband sold one house years ago; she claimed she could only afford R10,000 bail despite the state prosecutor requesting R100,000.
- Mashazi is accused of masterminding efforts to block disciplinary action against Mkhwanazi related to a "blue light" incident, involving Behari and Gxasheka, whom she allegedly rewarded with illegal salary increases totaling over R600,000 each.
- Magistrate Trevor Classen ordered all four accused to report to police stations weekly and postponed the case to August 28.
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Former Ekurhuleni City manager Maboikanyo Imogen Mashazi Linda Gxasheka
In her affidavit, she stated that she and her husband used to live in the Sanward Park house years back and that the property was sold.
Ntelwa also did the same on the bail of Gxasheka
In that regard, Mashazi Gxasheka Mkhwanazi
In turn, Mashazi Gxasheka
Magistrate Trevor Classen instructed all four accused to report themselves to their nearest police stations every Friday between 5am and 8pm in the evening.
