A Nelson Mandela Bay protection officer described as âhostileâ in council documents is facing disciplinary action after an investigation found he allegedly used ANC chief whip Wandisile Jikekaâs official Audi for a personal errand, crashed it and arranged for a relative to carry out unauthorised repairs.

The Audi Q5, bought in June 2025 for nearly R800,000, was assigned to the chief whipâs office. But in March it was damaged in a crash with a free-roaming animal, according to a report before the safety and security committee, with repairs coming to an estimated R100,000.

According to answers submitted in response to 87 questions about the incident by DA councillor Gustav Rautenbach, the crash happened on Cuyler Manor Road (R367) shortly before 11am on 2 March 2026 while the officer was allegedly driving from Gqeberha to his home in KwaNobuhle to fetch his cellphone.

At the time, Jikeka was attending an engagement at the South End Fire Station.

The investigation also exposed gaps in the metroâs fleet management and the training of its protection officers. The Audi had no logbook, while the municipality admitted in written responses that the officer had not received the required executive protection training because it had no contracted service provider.

Chief whip Jikeka has since been allocated a Ford Focus. The officer continues performing his duties, but is facing disciplinary action for failing to report the accident to the municipality.

Rautenbach said the incident exposed serious shortcomings in the metroâs VIP protection unit after the officer allegedly delayed reporting the crash and appeared to have tried to cover it up.

âItâs an indication that this officer â and several officers Iâve approached â have little understanding of what should happen after a motor vehicle accident.

âThe irregularities in this matter point to a systemic failure. The absence of a vehicle logbook is an indictment on proper management and control,â Rautenbach said at the committee meeting on Friday.

Vehicle vanished for several days

A report sent to the committee by acting chief of investigations and risk planning Godfrey Otto states that the car had disappeared for several days.

According to Otto, VIP unit commander Selvin Saffodien asked him on 5 March to help trace Jikekaâs Audi after the close protection officer reported for duty without it. The vehicle was not fitted with a tracking device.

âThe commander reportedly visited the residence of the officer, and after failing to find the vehicle there, he (the officer) could not give a satisfactory account of the location of the vehicle, prompting an internal investigation into the matter,â Otto wrote.

He reported that repeated calls to the officer also went unanswered.

The officer was eventually tracked to VIP director Arlin Robileâs office, where he was discussing a dispute relating to overtime.

After allowing the officer to deal with the overtime matter, they questioned him about the missing vehicle.

Otto said the officerâs attitude was âhostileâ.

When asked whether the vehicle had been involved in an accident, the officer allegedly admitted that it had, but would say only that it happened âin the metroâ, refusing to disclose the exact location. Otto said the officer also provided a vague response when asked if the accident had been reported to the police. The answers provided to Rautenbach by the metro, however, confirmed that it had indeed been reported to the SAPS.

According to Otto, the VIP officer then insisted he would cooperate only in the presence of a union representative or legal adviser.

After making a phone call, the officer told investigators that a colleague was bringing the vehicle from the Lillian Diedericks Building.

âCrude repair workâ

When it arrived at the Harrower Road Depot, investigators immediately noticed what they described as crude repair work.

âThe entire right-hand side (front to back) and the left rear section had been resprayed in an unprofessional manner. Damage to the front bumper was also evident,â Otto wrote.

Robile was called to inspect the vehicle before investigators instructed that it should not be returned to the officer until it had been examined by the municipalityâs automotive section.

Otto concluded there was strong reason to believe the Audi had been privately repaired without the municipalityâs knowledge.

âIt is evident that the vehicle was in all probability involved in an accident, either with another vehicle or an unknown object or structure, and privately repaired without the knowledge or approval of the employer,â he wrote.

âThe fact that the officer failed to report the damage gives reason to believe the accident occurred while the vehicle was not being used for official purposes.â

Those suspicions appear to be reinforced by the municipalityâs written responses to Rautenbach.

Instead of arranging for the damaged Audi to be collected by a municipal-approved towing company and repaired through an authorised service provider, the responses indicate the officer allegedly drove the vehicle to his home, where a relative repaired it at the officerâs own expense.

Driver accused of wasteful expenditure

In addition to describing the incident as a systemic failure, Rautenbach said the officerâs alleged use of the municipal vehicle to fetch a cellphone from KwaNobuhle amounted to unauthorised use and resulted in wasteful expenditure.

âTo go and pick up your cellphone from Gqeberha to KwaNobuhle is about 80 to 90 kilometres there and back.

âThereâs wasteful expenditure involved.

âIn my book, to go and fetch your cellphone is unofficial use.â

Rautenbach said he intended asking the speaker to refer Jikeka to the Rules and Ethics Committee to determine whether council policies governing official vehicle use had been breached.

He further recommended that the officer be removed from protection duties until the disciplinary process was finalised.

âIf you read the responses, he was all but cooperative.

âHow is it possible that an official can decide, âIâm not going to cooperate with youâ? That is the impression I get.â

Training concerns

The responses to Rauntebach also indicated another concern, including that the officer had not yet completed executive protection training â a compulsory qualification for close protection officers.

The municipality attributed the delay to the absence of a contracted training provider.

Rautenbach dismissed that explanation.

âTo mention there is no service provider for the said training is unacceptable.

âThere are specialised service providers available in the metro.

âWe entrust our lives to protection officers while they are not fully trained.

âThey protect the cityâs number one citizen and other officials entitled to protection, yet they are not fully trained.

âIt tells me your life as a leader is not worth that much,â Rautenbach said.

He recommended that the executive director for safety and security audit the qualifications of every close protection officer and develop comprehensive standard operating procedures governing municipal vehicle accidents.

ANC councillor Luzuko Ndamse agreed that a thorough investigation was required, while MMC for Safety and Security Luyanda Lawu said he was concerned that councillors had not yet received a progress report.

âIâm worried that itâs not in front of us. And Iâm worried that weâre going to engage and take recommendations, of which we donât know how far is it. The report must come into the next standing committee,â Lawu insisted. DM