Ekurhuleni metro police saga resembles silent collapse of public policing authority

SOUTH Africa’s policing crisis is no longer just about crime. It’s about the quiet, dangerous shift of state authority into private hands. Across the country, municipal police departments and private security companies now operate in overlapping, often competing spaces. 

When that relationship isn’t tightly policed, it corrupts the very foundation of public safety. It blurs the line between official authority and private interest. And it opens the door to the kind of abuse that the Constitution simply cannot withstand.

The scandal in Ekurhuleni is not an isolated embarrassment; it is the clearest warning sign yet.

On November 11 , Deputy Chief of Police Julius Mkhwanazi was suspended following jaw-dropping testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into corruption in the criminal justice system. What emerged was a case study in how power can quietly migrate from the state to private actors and how easily that migration can be abused.

The central allegation is extraordinary: Mkhwanazi signed what he now admits was an unlawful Memorandum of Understanding with CAT VIP Protection Services, owned by Vusimuzi Matlala. Signed solely by Mkhwanazi, the agreement effectively delegated core policing functions to a private company. Not in theory, in practice.

The commission heard that:

• CAT VIP Protection was given quasi-police powers. The company’s high-end vehicles, BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes, were authorised to attend crime scenes and use blue lights normally reserved for official police. That alone crosses every legal and ethical boundary in public policing.

• Public authority was quietly eroded. Testimony suggested the company was even gearing up to provide protection for the mayor, blurring the line between municipal government and private force.

• Due-diligence collapsed completely. The city’s former legal head admitted to failing to conduct a basic review of the MOU. A so-called “administrative oversight.” A systemic failure in checks and balances.

This wasn’t a partnership. It was the privatisation of power.

And the national danger is this: if it happened in Ekurhuleni, it could happen anywhere. South Africa’s security landscape, fragmented, under-regulated, and heavily privatised, is primed for this kind of infiltration.

Academic research and civic watchdogs have been warning for years that collusion between police and private security undermines public accountability, weakens whistle-blowing systems, and corrodes community trust.

Ekurhuleni just showed us how deep the rot can run.

Now what? The structural reforms South Africa must implement urgently. If South Africans treat the Mkhwanazi scandal as just another headline, we will miss the lesson. This is a national vulnerability, not a local mishap. And the reforms required are structural, not cosmetic.

Here is what must change now before it is too late.

• Restore a clear separation of powers: Law enforcement is a public mandate. It cannot be delegated informally or outsourced through backdoor agreements.

The CAT VIP MOU, which gave a private firm blue light privileges, is a textbook example of what happens when boundaries collapse. Any cooperation with private entities must be formal, transparent, time-bound, and tightly regulated.

• Make senior police appointments transparent and competitive: Factional promotions and political appointments rot institutions from the inside. Mkhwanazi’s testimony hinted at political tensions and irregular promotions within the EMPD, classic signs of an institution where personal networks override merit. Senior policing posts should be publicly advertised, independently vetted, and subject to non-political oversight.

• Strengthen independent oversight bodies: Oversight cannot rely on internal structures that may be captured, intimidated, or conflicted. Agencies like IPID need genuine independence, budget protection, and legal authority to pursue misconduct without interference. Testimony before the Madlanga Commission revealed alleged tampering with internal disciplinary processes to shield Mkhwanazi. This shows exactly why oversight must sit outside the institution.

• Introduce mandatory public transparency: No policing agreement, contract, or partnership, especially with private security, should be allowed to operate in secrecy.

The concealment of the CAT VIP MOU and the clumsy attempts to downplay it show why communities must have access to these documents. Community policing forums must be empowered with real oversight tools, not just symbolic roles.

• Set national standards for municipal policing: Right now, South Africa’s municipal police operate with wildly uneven standards, oversight mechanisms, and political pressures. That variability is a risk. A national regulatory framework must define:
• limits on municipal policing powers
• rules governing partnerships with private security
• oversight architecture
• transparency obligations

If Ekurhuleni had operated under such a framework, the CAT VIP saga would never have materialised, in my view.

Why these reforms matter. You can’t police a community that no longer trusts you. You can’t fight crime when the lines between public authority and private interest are blurred beyond recognition. And you can’t build safety on institutions perceived as corrupt, compromised, or captured.

The Mkhwanazi affair has already damaged the reputation of the EMPD. But if the country ignores what it signals, the slow, silent collapse of public policing authority, then other metros will follow this blueprint.

Not because they intend to, but because the system allows it. This scandal must not be dismissed as the work of a rogue official or a single corrupt partnership. It exposes a structural vulnerability in South Africa’s policing ecosystem. If the country values safety, justice, and constitutional integrity, then the architecture of municipal policing must be rebuilt on clearer laws, firmer oversight, and far greater transparency.

South Africa cannot afford to look away. The time to act decisively and nationally is now.

Qwesha is a trade finance consultant with expertise in global commerce and risk management and regularly contributes to a number of publications.