Former Ekurhuleni city manager Imogen Mashazi’s fashion choices and taste for luxury have landed her in hot water.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, has called for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to probe her accounts.
MASHAZI’S R3.5 MILLION LOOK
This follows revelations that a single outfit worn by Mashazi may have cost R3.5 million.
Describing the fashion choice as a “grotesque display”, Zille tweeted that SARS should investigate where the money came from and whether it was correctly taxed.
“This is one outfit that costs about as much as the President’s annual salary,” Zille posted on her X account.
Zille shared an image from the Sunday Times, which broke down Mashazi’s look and its hefty price tag. According to the publication, she wore a Dolce & Gabbana dress worth R53,104.40, a Bulgari necklace and bracelet costing R840,700 and R672,700, a Hermès bag and sandals valued at R680,000 and R14,336, and topped off the outfit with an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch worth R1.2 million.
MADLANGA COMMISSION
Aside from her fashion choices being under the microscope, Mashazi is also under scrutiny for far more serious allegations at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System (Madlanga Commission).
Mashazi is accused of using her position to advance the career of suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi. She recently concluded her testimony before the commission.
Days after another witness, Marius van der Merwe (Witness D), made explosive claims against Mkhwanazi before the Madlanga Commission, he was shot dead outside his home in Brakpan. Van der Merwe had testified that Mkhwanazi told him to dispose of a body and that he feared he would be the next victim if he did not comply.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was among those who condemned the murder of Witness D, saying Van der Merwe’s testimony had angered individuals seeking to undermine the rule of law. He urged law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure the perpetrators face justice.
