Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Julius Mkhwanazi has reportedly been fired.
Mkhwanazi’s dismissal comes after a year marked by multiple criminal cases, arrests and bail applications. Public reporting has described five arrest warrants/arrests in connection with separate matters, although some reports distinguish between completed arrests and the fifth warrant being served while he was already in custody.
His first arrest this year was in April in a case involving allegations of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice alongside Ekurhuleni City Manager Kagiso Lerutla. Mkhwanazi was granted R30,000 bail in that matter.
He was arrested again in July in a separate corruption case linked to the alleged installation of blue lights on private vehicles associated with businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. He was granted R50,000 bail in that matter.
Mkhwanazi was subsequently arrested in connection with the alleged theft of precious stones worth about R14.9 million during an alleged bogus police raid in Killarney. He and a co-accused were each granted R5,000 bail on 21 July.
In August, he was arrested in connection with the 2022 murder of businessman Emmanuel Mbense. His bail application in that matter was dismissed by the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on 15 September, meaning he remained in custody.
Mkhwanazi was also served with a fifth arrest warrant on 27 August in the blue-lights case and later granted R10,000 bail in that matter on 14 September. However, he remained in custody because of the separate Mbense murder case.
The various allegations against Mkhwanazi remain subject to court proceedings, and an arrest or charge does not amount to a finding of guilt. His reported dismissal now adds another major development to the legal and disciplinary proceedings surrounding the suspended senior metro police official.
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