By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry resumed its public hearings after a short recess with the spotlight shifting to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
Superintendent Elmarie de Beer, head of investigations in the JMPD’s internal affairs unit, was the first witness to testify.
De Beer told the commission that the internal affairs unit was responsible for dealing with misconduct involving JMPD members.
This includes criminal allegations such as corruption, as well as employment-related misconduct.
She has levelled serious allegations against former Superintendent, Phineas Manyama.
De Beer said Manyama created “no-go zones” in Johannesburg, preventing certain Tactical Response Unit (TRU) members from policing areas where criminal syndicates were operating.
She said officers entering Cyrildene, an area known for its large foreign-national community, were on several occasions ordered by Manyama to leave and stop patrolling the area.
De Beer further told the Commission that selected TRU members were permitted to operate in these areas, with some escorting trucks transporting stolen copper for criminal syndicates.
She said some of these members were also appointed outside the JMPD’s lawful recruitment processes.
De Beer said disciplinary action against Manyama and members of his TRU group has repeatedly failed to get off the ground, largely due to insufficient evidence.
She said the lack of a formal JMPD database tracking informants further complicates investigations, despite informants playing a critical role in gathering intelligence on crimes such as drug and human trafficking.
When Internal Affairs hits a dead end, she said cases are escalated to SAPS for urgent intervention.
Internal Affairs is responsible for investigating, among other things, misconduct, extortion, assault and corruption within the JMPD, and may refer cases for prosecution where a prima facie case is established.
The Commission also heard that Internal Affairs is severely understaffed, particularly in matters involving the Security and Licensing divisions.
In an earlier testimony, JMPD K9 Unit Sergeant Rico van Wyk, told the Commission that officers, Johannes Mokgatle and Zwelibanzi Mgujulwa, were involved in a kidnapping and extortion incident on 29 September 2021.
Van Wyk said the alleged victim reported that the officers abducted him and his daughter after he picked her up from school, before extorting at least R5 million from his residence.
The commission was shown video footage of the incident, appearing to capture the two officers forcing the man and his daughter from their white BMW 4 Series before driving off with them in separate vehicles.
Van Wyk said Mokgatle and Mgujulwa were travelling in a white BMW 3 Series and wearing civilian clothing at the time.
He said the officers did not deny being the men seen in the footage, but remained silent when questioned about the incident.
Both of them were assigned to my shift and I questioned them about the video so to establish whether it was a police operation. Neither officer denied being in the video, however they remained silent and didn’t not provide any information regarding their presence in the incident depicted in the video,” van Wyk said.
Van Wyk said the pair also failed to notify the K9 Unit’s WhatsApp group about the operation, despite officers normally using the platform to alert colleagues about their activities.
The hearings have concluded for the day, with a new witness expected to take the stand on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.