Mapaballo Borotho
- Former Ekurhuleni City Manager Imogen Mashazi faced tough questioning at the Madlanga Commission over allegations that she protected suspended EMPD official Julius Mkhwanazi.
- She admitted the process that appointed Mkhwanazi appeared irregular and presented a video she claimed showed Mapiyeye was politically shielded.
- Mashazi was criticised for repeatedly saying she could not remember key decisions made during her time in office.
The Madlanga Commission on Tuesday heard that the former Ekurhuleni City Manager Imogen Mashazi had no power to discipline suspended EMPD head Isaac Mapiyeye because he was allegedly politically connected.
Mashazi continued her testimony before the Inquiry into interference within the criminal justice system after spending her Monday in the hot seat.
She played the Commission a video clip, which she said proved that Mapiyeye was politically protected. The video related to the alleged accidents Mapiyeye was involved in while under the influence of alcohol.
Dr Imogen Mashazi has just played a video for the #MadlangaCommission which she says proves that suspended EMPD chief Isaac Mapiyeye was protected even after he was involved in a car accident under the influence of alcohol#KayaNews TT https://t.co/FfvRA4AVUY pic.twitter.com/75dFRlG6h3
— Kaya News (@KayaNews) December 2, 2025
Mashazi further told the Commission that the appointment of suspended deputy EMPD chief Julius Mkhwanazi appears to have been irregular.
The appointment of Mkhwanazi, who’s accused of being a rogue officer, took centre stage at the Commission on Tuesday.
He has been accused of pulling strings for alleged underworld kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and of irregularly appointing 50 people within the department.
Dr Mashazi testified that she was not part of the process that hired Mkhwanazi but accepts that irregularities may have occurred.
Among these were the absence of a competency test and the failure of a fourth panelist to score the candidates. Mashazi told the Commission she had been on leave at the time of his appointment.
Despite this, she testified that Mkhwanazi was the right person to act in the position of suspended EMPD chief Isaac Mapiyeye, even though he was the most junior of the three deputy chiefs in his pod.
Her statement followed her earlier claim that she could not remember who she had appointed as acting chief.
Mashazi has been taken to task for repeatedly claiming she cannot remember key decisions made during her tenure. She also said she does not recall calling a meeting regarding an email alleging she was protecting Mkhwanazi.
Both Mkhwanazi and Mashazi have been accused of being overly protective of one another, with allegations that Mashazi shielded him from disciplinary action despite the serious accusations against him.
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The post Mashazi grilled at Madlanga Commission over alleged protection of Julius Mkhwanazi appeared first on KAYA 959.
