Hearing record
Day 42
Former City of Ekurhuleni manager Dr Imogen Mashazi returns to the stand as evidence leaders press her on why, for nearly a decade, alleged rape, sexual harassment and corruption inside the EMPD drew an 'empowerment programme' rather than discipline - and on whether she shielded suspended metro police chief Julius Mkhwanazi.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Mashazi testified that allegations of rape, sexual harassment and EMPD officers fathering children with subordinates were 'hearsay', arguing that without a formal complaint her hands were tied.
- The commission heard the concerns were first raised by alleged victims in 2016, yet the main documented response by her July 2025 retirement was an 'empowerment programme' meant to stop women officers becoming 'sexual slaves'.
- Mashazi denied shielding suspended acting EMPD head Julius Mkhwanazi from discipline after an IPID report allegedly implicated him in fraud and corruption tied to Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala.
- Justice Madlanga sharply questioned why she had, in his words, sat 'with folded arms', and Mashazi conceded the empowerment programme had not been enough.
- She said she believed she had been prejudiced in how her testimony unfolded and asked for time to file a supplementary affidavit.
- The commission gave her until the following Wednesday to source supporting documents to be submitted through her attorneys.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
A nine-year paper trail meets 'I don't recall'
Evidence leaders walked Mashazi through complaints that reached her office as far back as 2016. She repeatedly said she had no proof and could not recall specifics, framing the allegations as hearsay that no formal grievance had ever crystallised. Reporters in the room described the tone as nonchalant, with Mashazi at one point invoking her health under pressure.
Did she protect the EMPD chief?
Much of the day turned on Julius Mkhwanazi, the suspended acting EMPD head allegedly named in an IPID fraud-and-corruption report over memoranda of understanding with companies linked to Matlala. Mashazi denied deliberately shielding him from disciplinary steps. The exchange set up the appearance of Mkhwanazi himself in the days that followed.
Our analysis
The bottom line
Mashazi's account raises a governance question the commission keeps circling: at what point does an administrative leader's inaction become active protection? On her own telling she knew of serious allegations for years and chose an awareness programme over investigation, which the chairperson challenged as insufficient. That is a fair-comment concern about accountability, not a finding that she committed any offence.
Her request to file a supplementary affidavit is worth watching. It signals that the documentary record - who reported what, and what her office did next - may matter more than live recollection, and it hands the commission a concrete deliverable against which to test her evidence.
Analysis is the archive’s own comment on the public proceedings, grounded in the record above. It weighs the evidence and the process; questions of individual guilt are for the courts and the commission to decide. Everyone named is presumed innocent.
In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)
Sources
- EWN - Mashazi claims prejudice at Madlanga inquiry, seeks time for supplementary affidavit (02 Dec 2025) ↗
- Daily Maverick - Madlanga hearing told Ekurhuleni failed to act on metro police rape and corruption claims (01 Dec 2025) ↗
- SowetanLive - WATCH: Ekurhuleni ex-manager Imogen Mashazi continues testimony at Madlanga Commission (02 Dec 2025) ↗