By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) chief Yolande Faro says Service Level Agreement (SLA) with El Shadai Security Services was signed while she was on leave, without seeing the document or a list of successful bidders.
Faro continued with her testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College in Tshwane.
“I have not seen the service level agreement before it was signed. No draft was sent to me. Nothing was sent to me to go through,” Faro said.
Pressed by Commissioner Sandile Khumalo, Faro conceded she was unaware of the appointment at the time.
“No, I was not aware of that. I have not received a list to say these are the successful service providers,” she said.
Khumalo described the situation as “a serious red flag”.
The revelation drew immediate concern from the commission, with Khumalo questioning how agreements could be prepared and signed without the knowledge of the city’s police chief.
Faro distanced herself from the drafting and signing of the SLAs, saying the process falls under the city’s legal and financial departments.
“The service level agreement is drawn up between the legal department and the office of the group financial services. I did not receive it before I went on leave, that is a fact and that is the truth,” she said.
She rejected suggestions that her lack of awareness amounted to a failure of leadership.
However, she acknowledged a gap in the system, suggesting that TMPD leadership should be involved earlier in the process before SLAs are finalised.
Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned how such irregularities could go undetected for so long.
“Why aren’t there systems that make sure that if something wrong has happened, it must be found out, it must be discovered soon enough. It must not be purely fortuitous that we do become aware of it. There must be systems in place that make sure that one, it either doesn’t happen or if it has happened, it is discovered soon enough,” Madlanga said.
Faro agreed that the system had been compromised.
Faro began her law enforcement career in 1998 at the City of Cape Town, rising through the ranks to the position of deputy metro police commissioner. She left the metro in 2016 to take up a new role as metro police chief in Nelson Mandela Bay, where she served out her five-year contract.
Following this, she applied for the position of chief of police at the TMPD, where she assumed office on 1 October 2023.
TMPD deputy commissioner, Sean Bolhuis, painted a picture of internal failures, distancing himself from a series of controversial decisions made while he served as caretaker head of the Asset Protection, Security and Services Unit between July 2024 and February 2025.
That unit is responsible for safeguarding critical municipal infrastructure, often relying on private firms.
But according to Bolhuis, due process was ignored.
Bolhuis revealed that purchase orders linked to the contracts were processed through official systems, including a batch totalling more than R13.6 million for so-called “ad hoc services.”
“The purchase orders created out of this process were registered on the TMPD system on March 6, 2025,” he said, underscoring how deeply the irregularities penetrated formal channels.
Despite Gubis 85 Solutions receiving the majority of ad hoc sites, Bolhuis said he was unaware of the number of sites allocated to the company.
He maintained that he was never consulted by officials, Tshukudi Malatji including Senior Superintendent Dr. Kwapeng Madihlaba, or then junior inspector Lebogang Phiri, all of whom are alleged to have been involved in approving the allocations.
Bolhuis described the rapid allocation of sites within a month as unjustified and irregular.
According to his testimony, Dr. Madihlaba allocated 40 ad hoc sites to Gubis 85 Solutions between 14 January and 13 February 2025, while Dr Madihlaba assigned an additional two sites.
Bolhuis said both officials issued notification letters for the deployments, with each site staffed by 24 security officers and supported by three patrol vehicles.
The commission heard that the company has received more than R14 million for the services, averaging over R1 million per month.
“I emphasise that while acting as caretaker I did not authorise Dr. K.E Madihlaba to allocate the two sites to Gubis 85 Solutions Pty. Ltd. nor did Dr. Madihlaba have authority to allocate sites. Because such authority lies with the director of APSS Mr. Malatji. At no stage did Mr. Malatji inform me that he gave permission for the allocation of these sites or that he delegated the allocation of sites to Mr. Phiri and Dr. Madihlaba, “Bolhuis said.
Bolhuis also criticised the decision to transfer the APSS Unit from the City of Tshwane to the TMPD, describing it as impractical.
He told the commission that, in addition to holding two full-time positions and one part-time role within TMPD, he was also assigned to oversee HR matters for the APSS division following the transfer on the 1st of July 2025.