Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi was released on R30 000 bail by the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, with the magistrate cautioning against witness tampering.
“The application is granted and bail is set at R30 000 for each applicant,” the magistrate said.
Mkhwanazi appeared alongside Ekurhuleni city manager Kagiso Lerutla, who allegedly paid R400 000 for him to arrange for a civilian, Thabang Tsotetsi, to impersonate him in court in an excessive speeding case.
The magistrate ordered both men to hand over their passports to state officials before their release, with the next court appearance set for 13 May. The state also requested that they be barred from contacting the alleged impersonator, Tsotetsi.
“The allegation is that, instead of appearing personally, he connived with the first applicant and one Thabang Tsotetsi for the latter to impersonate him and appear on his behalf,” the magistrate said.
The court said its ruling was based on an “objective assessment of the facts” limited to the bail proceedings.
“Both applicants have set out their personal circumstances, their family ties and composition, as well as their employment status, to convince the court they have no reason to abscond or evade trial. The state did not take issue with that,” the magistrate said.
Mkhwanazi was arrested on 18 April at his residence, where he was found in possession of unlicensed firearms. Lerutla was intercepted at OR Tambo International Airport the following day.
The pair first appeared in court on 20 April and were remanded in custody pending the bail hearing.
In March 2019, Lerutla was stopped for speeding and warned to appear in court. It is alleged that he conspired with Mkhwanazi to hire Tsotetsi to appear in his place, where a R400 000 payment was made.
In a separate incident in May 2021, Lerutla allegedly offered a tow-truck driver R10 000 to remove a body from the scene of a car crash before emergency services arrived. The case was later withdrawn after a two-year investigation and the docket went missing.
The charges of fraud, defeating the ends of justice and two counts of corruption relate to the alleged R400 000 payment for a stand-in during court proceedings. The fifth criminal charge relates to Mkhwanazi’s unlicensed firearms.
The state argued that the Mkhwanazi and Lerutla had impeded the investigation until the establishment of the Madlanga task team, which was able to make progress.
However, the magistrate noted that the case docket was only opened in March 2026 and said there was no evidence linking the team’s work to the laying of charges.
The magistrate also found that, apart from a single witness statement, there was no evidence linking Lerutla and Mkhwanazi to the alleged impersonator.
On 13 May, when the pair make their next scheduled court appearance, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola will also appear in the dock with Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, 12 police officials and three company directors in the R360 million Medicare24 irregular procurement scandal.
Mkhwanazi appeared alongside Ekurhuleni city manager Kagiso Lerutla, who allegedly paid R400 000 for him to arrange for a civilian, Thabang Tsotetsi, to impersonate him in court in an excessive speeding case
