A report presented to Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts has revealed that the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) employed officials with serious criminal records. The report, which followed oversight visits and hearings in five metropolitan municipalities, found that 63 EMPD officials had prior convictions, including four for murder and six for robbery. This has raised concerns about the department's vetting process and its ability to ensure public safety.
The report also found that 114 EMPD officials face 173 criminal charges, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and assault. The charges were registered between October 2014 and December 2025, with almost 60% of them occurring in the last four years. The vetting process, which began in May, revealed that pending cases against officials also included charges of fraud, corruption, extortion, and conspiracy.
The EMPD has been under national scrutiny since its former deputy chief, Julius Mkhwanazi, and other senior officers were linked to organised crime networks. Mkhwanazi is currently in jail facing a murder charge and was fired by the City of Ekurhuleni in September. The report before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts states that the municipality was requested to provide an update on its vetting of EMPD officials, as well as the status of investigations, convictions, and pending cases.
A criminal record verification of 3,586 EMPD officials was conducted in May, which found that 55 officials had 72 convictions during service for violent crime, attempted murder, theft, fraud, and firearm offences. The report states that it has no clarity on whether officials charged with violent and serious crimes were taken off active duty or stripped of their weapons. This has raised concerns about the safety of the public and the ability of the EMPD to perform its duties effectively.
The report also highlighted IT control failures and cyber breaches in the Ekurhuleni municipality, which are estimated to have cost R2.5-billion. The municipality's traffic department lost R2.7-billion in fines during 2024/25 after cancelling its traffic fine management system without a replacement. The report states that the "critical IT governance breakdown" in the traffic department appeared to be part of a broader pattern of IT failures at the municipality.
The report found that the five metropolitan municipalities, including Ekurhuleni, had misspent tens of billions of rands. The municipalities had R24.5-billion in unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure during the 2024/25 financial year. The City of Johannesburg recorded R11.8-billion in unauthorised expenditure within the "core municipality" and its 13 parastatals. The report states that the misspending came to R54-billion when combined with the previous 2023/24 year.
The report's findings have raised concerns about the ability of metropolitan municipalities to manage public funds and provide essential services to citizens. The municipalities have been accused of harming public health and the environment, and the report states that remedial measures are being put in place to address these issues. The Ekurhuleni municipality has established a 24-hour security operations centre and is strengthening cybersecurity control to prevent future IT failures and cyber breaches.
Key points
- 63 Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officials had prior convictions, including four for murder and six for robbery.
- The Ekurhuleni municipality lost R2.7-billion in fines during 2024/25 after cancelling its traffic fine management system.
- The five metropolitan municipalities had R24.5-billion in unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure during the 2024/25 financial year.
