Ekurhuleni blue-lights case against Mkhwanazi and three former officials postponed to February 2027
The corruption case against expelled Ekurhuleni metro police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and three former senior city officials — former city manager Imogen Mashazi, former legal services head Kemi Behari and former human resources head Linda Gxasheka — was postponed on Friday to 25 February 2027, when it is expected to move to the Regional Court. The four, who are out on R50,000 bail each, are accused of shielding Mkhwanazi from discipline over the fitting of police blue lights to vehicles linked to alleged crime figure Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala. The allegations are untested and no one has been convicted.
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This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
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Key points
- The blue-lights corruption case was postponed on Friday to 25 February 2027, when it is expected to transfer to the Regional Court.
- The accused are Julius Mkhwanazi and former city manager Imogen Mashazi, legal head Kemi Behari and HR head Linda Gxasheka, each on R50,000 bail.
- The State alleges the three officials shielded Mkhwanazi over blue lights fitted to Matlala-linked vehicles; the allegations are untested and no one has been convicted.
What happened
An Independent Police Investigative Directorate report in September 2023 recommended disciplinary action against Mkhwanazi over the blue-lights arrangement; he was suspended in February 2023 and returned to work three months later. The allegations later featured prominently before the Madlanga commission of inquiry.
Mkhwanazi faces separate legal matters, including a murder case and a separate blue-lights corruption case; those proceedings are distinct from this one and he has not been convicted in any of them.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the four appeared in Germiston on Friday, that the case now returns on 25 February 2027, and that transfer to the Regional Court is expected then.
- That all four are on R50,000 bail each and that Mkhwanazi, dismissed on 18 September, is pursuing Labour Court action.
What we don't know yet
- How each accused will plead, and what the State's evidence will show when the case is tested — the allegations have not been heard in a trial.
- Whether the Regional Court transfer will happen at the February appearance as expected.
Claim by claim
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Why this label: The appearance, the postponement date and the expected transfer are reported in the same terms by the Mail & Guardian and other South African reports of Friday's hearing.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The bail, the charges and the Labour Court action are reported from Friday's court proceedings; the dismissal date is the City's own earlier confirmation.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: These are the State's allegations, set out in the charge sheet and in testimony before the Madlanga commission. They have not been tested in a criminal trial; all four accused are presumed innocent and none has been convicted.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why it matters
The case is the criminal test of one of South Africa's most closely watched municipal scandals: whether senior officials protected a metro police chief accused of lending police authority — blue lights on private vehicles — to an alleged crime figure, and rewarded themselves while doing it. Friday's postponement means that test will not begin in earnest until February 2027.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — Friday's postponement is confirmed; the charges themselves are untested allegations.