By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System heard the testimony from the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) head of media and public relations, as explosive allegations of intimidation and corruption continue to surface.
Lieutenant-Colonel Kelebogile Thepa testified at the commission’s hearings at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
She relived a 2023 incident where she was hijacked and kidnapped by three men after handling a media inquiry to the Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala blue lights saga.
Thepa said on a Saturday morning in July 2023 she woke up and went to the cemetery where her late mother was laid to rest.
“As we were going back home, the neighbour (relative) and I were sitting together in the car. Three men came. One came to the driver’s side and cocked a firearm. He demanded that I switch off the vehicle. He used his hands to reach for the car keys.
“Another man came behind me and placed a sharp metal object on my neck. I thought it was a knife but it was a firearm. They wanted my cellphone. I was hit on the head with a firearm…, “said Thepa.
“The men drove to my house and then drove to Ivory Park… While driving, they kept saying things related to my work and they wanted my cellphone. They said I am a problem at work… The attack on me was related to my work. The attack was not financially motivated. They did not want the brand new car nor my bank cards, which had money. They wanted my cellphone to see the work information I had. This was a stern warning to me…, “said Thepa.
She said after the perpetrators left her and fled, she went to open a case at Rabasotho Police Station in Tembisa.
Thepa said she believes the attack on her was because of the “way she responded to the Matlala saga.
On 2 February 2023, Thepa received a media inquiry regarding the disputed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the EMPD and CAT VIP Protection, which was signed by suspended EMPD deputy commissioner Julius Mkhwanazi.
The letter confirmed an “endless working relationship” and MOU with Matlala’s company to assist EMPD officers in any VIP protection and security services in and out of the City of Ekurhuleni.
Seven of the vehicles were listed in the letter and allegedly fitted with blue lights.
Thepa forwarded the inquiry to Retired EMPD deputy chief Revo Spies.
The alleged document looked very, very suspicious. I mean, how does one then reduce to writing something that would speak to ‘to whom it may concern?’ Above all, what caught my attention was the fact that it was on an EMPD letterhead. So, in the event that it needed to be authenticated, this would be the process to do it, “she said.
Thepa said Spies requested that she not divulge the illegality of the letter in her response to the media inquiry “in order for us to investigate this matter urgently before the evidence has been removed or destroyed”.
She said suspended EMPD deputy police chief Mkhwanazi did not like the way she handled and responded to the media inquiry on the blue light saga.
She also recalled that, prior to the incident, a vehicle had been following her. She investigated it and found it was linked to someone with the surname Mkhwanazi.
Earlier during the week, Spies told the commission that EMPD’s internal investigation uncovered that Matlalas private vehicles were registered as municipal vehicles and installed with state blue lights by Mkhwanazi.