Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) spokesperson and head of media and public relations unit, Lt-Col Kelebogile Thepa, relived a 2023 incident where she was hijacked and kidnapped by three men because of her “work response to the Vusimuzi Matlala blue lights saga”.
Thepa narrated her kidnapping ordeal on Friday at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. The commission is taking place at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria,.
In her testimony on Friday, Thepa said on a Saturday morning in July 2023 she woke up and went to the cemetery where her late mother is buried.
She said she went to the cemetery with a relative and they went there in the relative’s new car. They then left the cemetery.
Hijack ordeal
“As we were going back home, the neighbour (relative) and I were sitting together in the car. Three men came. One came to the driver’s side and cocked a firearm. He demanded that I switch off the vehicle. He used his hands to reach for the car keys.
“Another man came behind me and placed a sharp metal object on my neck. I thought it was a knife but it was a firearm. They wanted my cellphone. I was hit on the head with a firearm…,” said Thepa.
“The men drove to my house and then drove to Ivory Park… While driving, they kept saying things related to my work and they wanted my cellphone. They said I am a problem at work… The attack on me was related to my work. The attack was not financially motivated. They did not want the brand new car nor my bank cards, which had money. They wanted my cellphone to see the work information I had. This was a stern warning to me…,” said Thepa.
She said after the perpetrators left her and fled, she went to open a case at Rabasotho Police Station in Tembisa.
Attack linked to media inquiry about Vusi Matlala
Thepa said she believes the attack on her was because of the “way she responded to the News24 media inquiry on the blue lights saga around Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.
She said suspended EMPD deputy police chief Brig Julius Mkhwanazi did not like the way she handled and responded to the February 2023 media inquiry on the blue lights saga.
Thepa said the week after the kidnapping incident, a woman called Nomapa came to her office looking for her.
She said Nomapa, who works for the EMPD, was previously in a relationship with Mkhwanazi. They have a child together.
“I was puzzled that Nomapa came to the office looking for me. Our departments do not work together or communicate with [each] other. Our work roles do not necessitate that we communicate with each other. There is nothing we need from each other. We are not friends nor associates. We are just colleagues.
Suspicious visits form colleagues
“I think she came looking for me because of the kidnapping incident that happened…,” said Thepa.
Thepa’s testimony is led by one of the commission’s evidence leaders, Adv Ofentse Motlhasedi.
The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, and it continues.
Earlier during the week, retired EMPD deputy police chief Revo Spies told the commission that EMPD’s internal investigation uncovered that Matlala’s private vehicles were registered as municipal vehicles and installed with state blue lights by Mkhwanazi.
He said Mkhwanazi “illegally” organised for Matlala’s CAT VIP Protection (Pty) Ltd to provide security services during the City of Ekurhuleni’s State Of the City Address (SOCA) in March 2022.
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