Retired Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chairperson of the commission probing criminality and corruption in law enforcement and related institutions, has cautioned that the serious allegations of tender manipulation and graft uncovered in the City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni are unlikely to be isolated incidents.
Madlanga made the remarks on Tuesday during testimony by Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) Chief Yolande Faro at the commission’s hearings. He expressed concern that the level of criminality exposed so far points to a deeper, systemic problem that could be replicated across municipalities throughout South Africa.
“So it’s quite bothersome because these institutions cannot possibly be outliers. One believes that what we see is replicated throughout the country. That’s quite bothersome,” Madlanga stated during the proceedings.
Faro used her testimony to corroborate earlier evidence given two weeks prior by TMPD Deputy Chief Revo Spies, who had raised concerns about tender manipulation within the metro. According to the testimony, suspended police sergeant Fannie Nkosi, Tshwane Metro Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi, and TMPD Deputy Chief Umashi Dhlamini allegedly colluded to manipulate a three-year asset protection tender valued at nearly 1 billion rand.
Faro revealed that supply chain officials linked to the manipulation of the tender have been identified. She added that internal investigations are at an advanced stage, and those found wanting will be reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
During questioning, Faro addressed concerns about unauthorised ad hoc security services. She noted that payments running into millions — and potentially tens or hundreds of millions of rands — were processed based on instructions from TMPD Inspector Lebogang Phiri, who was not authorised to issue such directives. Faro confirmed that the names of officials involved in processing those payments across the supply chain are known, and the investigation into them is ongoing.
“People who process the payments… do they not care that Piri was not authorized to issue those instructions? Why do they authorize payments… when the person who issued the ad hoc instructions was not authorized to do so?” a commissioner asked.
Faro responded: “Commissioner, you’re 100% [correct]. We’ve already… we know who processed it. We have the names of the people… from the whole food chain. I can guarantee you we are busy with that investigation.”
Another individual named in the testimony is Director Chukudu Malatji, responsible for security deployment, who is alleged to have created an unnecessary need for protection services to benefit companies handpicked by certain officials including Dhlamini and others.
Faro also expressed gratitude for the commission’s work and called for its scope to be expanded.
“I really want from my side to thank you for what you are doing for the country and for the province… and I wish that this can be rolled out… to all the municipalities within the borders of South Africa,” she said.
Faro will continue her testimony on Wednesday.
The developments come amid broader scrutiny of procurement irregularities in metropolitan police departments, including questions over a large-scale security services tender for protecting city assets and personnel.