The acting head of investigations at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has told the Madlanga commission that the Ekurhuleni metro police officers followed and threatened their investigating officers.
In one instance, one of the investigators’ vehicles was shot at and her child, who was in the car at the time, sustained gunshot wounds and very serious injuries.
This is according to the police watchdog’s Thuso Keefelakae, who said during the peak of their investigations into the Ekurhuleni metro police department in 2023 and 2024, their members received a number of threats.
At the time, he said, Ipid was investigating suspended EMPD police chief Julius Mkhwanazi and other officials who were believed to be Mkhwanazi’s team, as they refused to be vetted.
“The directorate can confirm that its investigators received threats which included physical threats and intimidation.
“The investigators have been subjected to explicit and credible threats to their personal safety during the time,” he testified at the commission yesterday.
“Commissioners, during that period the investigators were receiving messages that were threatening and relating to the cases that were being dealt with within the area of responsibility. And it’s frustrating because this then hinders their independence,” he said.
“During the time of these investigations, from time to time I would then meet the investigators to check up on them.
“During that time, one of the investigator’s vehicles was shot at and her child sustained very serious injuries. It affected other colleagues as well.”
While presenting to the commission about their responsibilities and number of cases they deal with as well as challenges they face, Keefelakae told the commission that there is organised crime within the EMPD and SAPS.
He said intelligence is telling them that the EMPD and SAPS operate in such a way that they are in silos and make sure that everyone has their own territory.
“There are those dealing with drugs, those who deal with consignment of goods... each have their terrain. Others are dealing with taxi-related matters,” he said, adding that the problem does not end in Ekurhuleni.
He also conceded that they do not have a proactive mechanism to deal with the said organised crime.
Last month, head of crime intelligence Gen Dumisani Khumalo told the ad hoc committee that an assessment done in 2024 found that most of Gauteng’s police officials work for criminal cartels.
Khumalo revealed this while giving reasons to the ad hoc committee why it was the political killings task team that carried out raids at the Joburg homes of alleged cartel members Katiso “TK” Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala in December 2024. The ad hoc committee is investigating allegations of criminal and political infiltration by criminal cartels.
“The reason [is that] during the analysis and the threat and risk assessment, it came out that almost the whole of SAPS in Gauteng is working for the cartel. Hence we had to get the combat team from the PKTT.
“Even the special task force that we used for that operation was not from Gauteng but was from outside the province,” he said at the time.
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