Ekurhuleni metropolitan police department (EMPD) officers convicted of murder, rape and other crimes remain in service without any disciplinary action, the Madlanga commission heard on Tuesday.
Former EMPD deputy chief Revo Spies testified about the systematic failure of discipline procedures in the department, which allowed convicted criminals, without providing proof of expungement of a criminal record, to serve as police officers.
The commission is investigating weaknesses and allegations of criminal infiltration of the security and justice cluster, including the EMPD.
Spies told the commission about the findings of a South African Police Service (SAPS) fingerprint analysis on EMPD officers, which were compiled after EMPD police chief Isaac Mapiyeye issued a directive for officers to have their fingerprints taken in 2022 for criminal record checking with SAPS.
Spies said the only department that blatantly refused to have their fingerprints taken was that of Julius Mkhwanazi, who headed the special services department then and was later promoted to deputy police chief in December 2023.
Mkhwanazi had about 200 officers in his department and was allowed to disregard the directive allegedly by former city manager Imogen Mashazi, arguing the process was conducted unlawfully.
Mapiyeye told the commission that Mkhwanazi had also refused to undergo State Security Agency (SSA) security vetting.
Spies told the commission that according to the SAPS report, there were 275 EMPD officers with criminal records, and some were awaiting trial. That included:
- four officers convicted of murder;
- four convicted of rape; and
- 58 convicted of assault.
The other crimes included robbery, kidnapping, theft and driving under the influence.
Spies told the commission some of the officers were convicted before joining the service but said he did not know how the officers managed to get into service, because during recruitment there is a process that checks whether candidates have criminal records.
He said he prepared a report for human resources to handle disciplinary hearings for those with criminal convictions, adding that officers who had proof of expungement of a criminal record should be given the opportunity to provide such to stay in service.
The report was submitted to human resources and the department’s legal service allegedly flagged the fingerprint process as having been conducted unlawfully.
“It never went further; that is where it stopped.”
There was no disciplinary process undertaken against officers by the human resource department headed by Linda Gxasheka and the fingerprint criminal record checking process was “killed”, Spies said.
He maintained the process was lawful because the SAPS Act allows fingerprints of officers to be taken for security reasons and does not allow people with criminal records to be appointed to the service.
He, however, said there was a problem in the interpretation of the law.
Spies told the commission that a police officer who killed his wife and was convicted for murder was allowed back into EMPD after he was released from prison.
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