Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief of police Brig Julius Mkhwanazi told his officers to clean a scene in Brakpan, load a dead body in a bakkie and dump it in a dam in Nigel, east of Johannesburg.
Retired deputy chief of police of the EMPD Revo Spies said this while testifying on Monday at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System taking place in Pretoria.
Threats fly as IPID probes the murder
Spies said investigators from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) told him in a meeting in March 2023 that they are investigating a murder case related to an incident that happened on April 15 2022 in Brakpan.
“The IPID investigators told me they are getting threats against their lives because they were investigating the murder case against EMPD officers. A body was found in a dam in the Nigel area. The crime was traced to a group of EMPD officers.
“It is alleged that they tortured a person on the scene using a method called tubing. They suffocated the person using a rubber. They tubed the person. The person who was being tortured told the officers that he has R500 000 in the house. The officers killed him,” said Spies.
“The officers called Brig Mkhwanazi from the crime scene, and he [Mkhwanazi] arrived in a white Golf. He told them to clean the scene and put the body in the bakkie so that they can dump the body. They dumped the body in a dam. One of the perpetrators turned into a state witness. The crime happened in 2022, and we are here now in 2025, and nothing has happened. No one has been arrested, and the IPID says the matter is still being investigated,” said Spies.
Mkhwanazi is currently on special leave.
Cops stealing copper
Meanwhile, Spies showed the commission videos of Mkhwanazi and other EMPD officers at a Meyerton workshop in August 2022, where they were allegedly stealing copper.
Spies said the whistleblower, Jaco Hanekom, who exposed the EMPD operation at the Meyerton workshop, was later killed in March 2023 after the EMPD officers who were arrested were granted bail.
Spies also told the commission that a member of the State Security Agency (SSA) told him in July 2023 that there were discussions to kill him.
“The person from SSA approached me and told me that they picked up death threats against me. The person said Brig Mkhwanazi and other officers were discussing at a place in Katlehong hiring hitmen from KwaZulu-Natal to kill me. They said I am easy to take out because I always ride on my motorcycle.
“The SSA person told me they informed the city manager [Imogen Mashazi] about the threats against me, and she said, ‘I provide him with a gun, he can look after himself’,” said Spies.
Security around top cop tightened
He said the SSA provided him with one security guard, and he has also tightened his security to protect himself and his family.
Spies said he got the information from the SSA during the period in July 2023 when he was “pushing” to get the EMPD and IPID to investigate Mkhwanazi for his alleged involvement in the blue lights saga.
Spies’ testimony is led by one of the commission’s evidence leaders Adv Mahlape Sello SC.
Spies, who started testifying last week Friday, will continue with his testimony on Tuesday at 9:30am.
The commission, which is taking place at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Last week, Spies said an EMPD’s internal investigation uncovered that alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s private vehicles were registered as municipal vehicles and installed with state blue lights by Mkhwanazi.
EMPD chief of police Isaac Mapiyeye, who is currently on suspension, told the commission that Mkhwanazi “illegally” organised for Matlala’s CAT VIP to provide security services during the city’s State Of the City Address (SOCA) in March 2022.
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