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By Palesa Matlala
- Kagiso Lerutla, Ekurhuleni’s City Manager, and suspended metro police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi face fraud and corruption charges again Thursday.
- The Madlanga Commission is investigating a R300 million cocaine bust, with witness Tumelo Nku expected to face more questions on Thursday.
It is a big week for South Africa’s corruption cases. Ekurhuleni’s City Manager is back in court on fraud charges, the Madlanga Commission is hearing more evidence in a R300 million cocaine case, and Parliament is closing in on its own corruption report.
The most striking case belongs to Kagiso Lerutla. He became City Manager of Ekurhuleni in November 2025, the top administrative job in the metro, and he is now on trial for fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
Lerutla is on trial with suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi. Prosecutors allege Lerutla paid R400,000 to Mkhwanazi and another man to pretend to be him in court, after Lerutla was arrested for speeding in 2019 and wanted to attend a job interview instead. Lerutla is also linked to a separate case in which prosecutors allege he paid someone to dispose of a crash victim’s body.
Both men return to the Boksburg Regional Court on Thursday, where prosecutors are expected to file more charges. They remain out on R30,000 bail each.
At the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, businessman Tumelo Nku is expected to answer more questions about the Aeroton cocaine bust. Nku says he worked as a police informer. A witness known only as Witness J disputes this, saying cellphone and Threema messages show Nku was involved in drug trafficking. Nku denies wrongdoing.
Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga has warned lawyers for suspended deputy crime intelligence head Major General Feroz Khan against public comments linking Khan’s recent shooting to a leaked commission affidavit.
Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating corruption in the justice system plans to adopt its final report by 16 July. Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane says evidence from witnesses who did not testify in person can still be included.
The EFF says it will report uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Vusi Shongwe to Parliament’s ethics committee. Shongwe told the commission that EFF leader Julius Malema blocked Khan from testifying before the ad hoc committee. The EFF says Malema was one of 11 committee members and could not have decided that alone.
Pictured above: Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi returns to court as the Madlanga Commission continues hearing evidence in several high-profile corruption investigations.
Image source: File
