“I started [a] programme to make sure that women are empowered and promoted, and I encouraged women not to allow men to sexually abuse them.”
This is what former Ekurhuleni municipal manager, Imogen Mashazi, said in her opening statement at the Madlanga commission about the legacy she left in the city.
She said among some of the things she did was to ensure that female police officers were promoted to senior positions on merit.
I started a programme to make sure that women are empowered and promoted, and I encouraged women not to allow men to sexually abuse them.
— Imogen Mashazi, former Ekurhuleni municipal manager
Mashazi claimed this was after she heard that women were sexually harassed before they could be promoted.
She accused suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) chief Jabulani Mapiyeye of being a perpetrator of women abuse and sexually abusing junior staff before promoting them to higher-ranking positions.
Mashazi is accused of protecting suspended EMPD chief Julius Mkhwanazi. It is alleged that Mashazi lifted Mkhwanazi’s suspension in 2023 when Mkhwanazi was facing a disciplinary hearing.
Mkhwanazi had entered into a memorandum of agreement with a security company belonging to alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
The agreement saw the cars belonging to Matlala fitted with blue lights and they were given letters that meant that they could pass roadblocks without being searched, as they were considered part of the Ekurhuleni metro police.
The hearings continue.
Sowetan
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