“I Can’t Leave My Children”— Julius Mkhwanazi Breaks Down as He Refuses to Go to Jail for Cat Matlala
The inquiry room was silent.
The fluorescent lights hummed softly above the tension.
And in the center of it all sat Julius Mkhwanazi, hands trembling, voice cracking, facing the moment that could decide the rest of his life.
A man cornered not by violence, not by a criminal confession, but by bureaucracy, documents, and a trail of signatures that had suddenly become deadly.
For weeks, the commission has been digging into the allegations tied to Vusi “Cat” Matlala, a figure whose name has been orbiting scandal, corruption whispers, and questions about unlawfully fitted blue lights on vehicles.
But on this day, the pressure turned full force on one man:
Julius Mkhwanazi — the EMPD official who insists he is NOT taking the fall.
“I won’t go to jail for something I didn’t do.”
His voice broke the air like a crack in the floor.
“I can’t agree to leave my kids and go to jail for something I didn’t do.
I didn’t put blue lights.”
His words weren’t loud — they were desperate.
The kind of desperation only a man who fears losing his children forever can express.
For a moment, the inquiry room stopped being a legal arena and became a human battlefield.
The Documents That Turned Everything Upside Down
The commission placed several pages before him — IDs, affidavits, transfer documents, memorandums.
Page 236.
Page 228.
Page after page.
Each one pointing to a disturbing truth:
Julius Mkhwanazi was directly involved in facilitating Cat Matlala’s vehicle registration and documentation.
He tried to push back.
He tried to soften the language.
He tried to distance himself from responsibility.
But the evidence kept tightening like a noose.
“Call it facilitation, call it assistance — you did it.”
The commissioner pressed him:
“Whether you call it facilitation or assistance… this is what you did.”
Julius swallowed hard before finally whispering:
“Yes… facilitation.”
But when the conversation shifted toward the implications —
toward jail time —
toward accountability —
Julius panicked.
Fear in His Eyes: “I can’t go to jail. I have children.”
He leaned forward, pleading, almost shaking.
“I may want to be honest and impress you, but not with lies.
I can’t leave my kids.
I can’t go to jail for this.”
No one had accused him of physically installing the illegal blue lights.
But the commission made one thing painfully clear:
He enabled the process.
He supplied documents.
He handled the paperwork.
He opened the door.
And now that door was closing on him.
The Moment Julius Realized the Trap
The break in the interrogation came when the commissioner presented one single sentence — a line buried at the end of a document.
A sentence stating that Chris Stain, the man involved in the vehicle registration, received the EMPD memorandum from Julius himself.
The room froze.
Julius blinked, stared at the paper, and his entire posture collapsed.
“If it’s from Chris… then I accept.
I’m the one who engaged him.”
The commissioner pressed again:
Why only accept it now?
Why deny it until the proof was shoved in front of him?
Why pretend to forget?
Julius had no defense left.
His voice went small.
“This was long ago…
I don’t remember…
I was lost.
Now I see. Now I accept.”
Then came the killer blow:
“So if I hadn’t shown you this line, you would have left here denying everything?”
There was nowhere left to hide.
“Yes.”
The Heart of the Matter
This inquiry isn’t just about documents.
It’s about the shadow surrounding Vusi “Cat” Matlala, a man whose dealings may have drawn innocent — or willing — officials into dangerous territory.
It’s about a system where:
papers are exchanged quietly
favors are done wordlessly
signatures carry silent consequences
and nobody wants to take the fall
But one thing is now clear:
Julius Mkhwanazi refuses to be the scapegoat.
He will not go down for Cat Matlala.
He will not leave his children.
He will not walk into a cell for paperwork he claims was harmless.
Whether his fear is justified
or whether it is the fear of a man finally cornered —
that will be for the commission to decide.
A Father’s Desperation… or a Man Trying to Escape Accountability?
This hearing revealed two possible truths:
1. Julius is a frightened father caught in a storm he never intended to be part of.
or
2. Julius is guilty — and only admitted what he could no longer deny.
His emotional appeal won sympathy in the room…
…but not freedom.
The commission will make its recommendations.
And Julius himself said the words that may echo long after this inquiry ends:
“You will make your recommendations… and I will be somewhere… maybe for 10 or 50 years.”
South Africa Now Waits
As the inquiry digs deeper into the network surrounding Cat Matlala…
As more documents surface…
As contradictions pile up…
One thing is certain:
Julius Mkhwanazi’s emotional collapse today marks a turning point.
Because his voice — trembling, afraid, desperate —
“I can’t leave my kids and go to jail”
— may be the first crack that breaks open everything.
