The corruption case involving suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and his co-accused has been postponed until July.
Mkhwanazi and City of Ekurhuleni municipal manager Kagiso Lerutla appeared in the Boksburg Regional Court on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, for the first time since their release on bail in late April.
EMPD’s Julius Mkhwanazi corruption case postponed
State prosecutor Nceba Ntelwa requested a postponement, informing the court that both the prosecution and defence required additional time to prepare.
According to Ntelwa, the state has already handed over the case docket to the defence, but further work is needed before proceedings can continue.
“In the meantime, [the state] will be drafting the new charge sheet. We’ll be amending this one,” he said.
The defence confirmed receipt of the docket, noting that it had been provided electronically on a USB flash drive.
The court also heard that items seized during the investigation would be returned.
“My learned colleague informed me that the state’s investigations regarding those cell phones have completed and they’ve undertaken to return it before the end of next week.”
The case will resume on 2 July.
Alleged scheme
Mkhwanazi and Lerutla face charges of corruption, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
Their arrests followed separate incidents in April 2026, with Mkhwanazi being taken into custody at his home and Lerutla apprehended at OR Tambo International Airport.
The state alleges that in March 2019, the two acted together in a scheme to avoid legal accountability.
After Lerutla was arrested for speeding and required to appear in the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court, it is alleged that a third party – believed to be Mkhwanazi’s personal driver – was recruited and paid to impersonate him in court so that the Ekurhuleni city manager could attend a job interview instead.
The individual allegedly appeared under false pretences and completed official diversion documents using Lerutla’s personal details, with Mkhwanazi allegedly facilitating the manipulation of fingerprint records.
The alleged gratification, estimated at around R400 000, was subsequently paid and shared between Mkhwanazi and the driver.
Separate allegations emerge from bail hearing
Additional allegations involving Lerutla were brought to light during earlier bail proceedings.
It was heard that Lerutla paid a tow-truck driver to get rid of a motorist’s body in a 14 May 2021 fatal crash.
The incident allegedly occurred on the N12 in Benoni, where Lerutla’s vehicle was involved in a collision with a Hyundai.
The driver of the Hyundai died at the scene.
Two EMPD officers reportedly attended the scene and arranged for Lerutla to be transported to hospital, where he was treated and discharged on the same day.
It is further alleged that Lerutla paid R10 000 to a tow-truck driver to remove the deceased’s body before emergency services and police arrived.
A culpable homicide case was opened but later withdrawn and closed.
According to the state, the closed dockets have since disappeared from the police storeroom, where archives are kept.
