Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi was in defence mode on Wednesday, 15 April 2026, as the Madlanga Commission intensified its scrutiny into the circumstances surrounding the death of Emmanuel Mbense.
Proceedings, held at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, focused on the 2022 killing of Mbense in Brakpan.
Mkhwanazi is accused of helping conceal the alleged involvement of EMPD officers Aiden McKenzie, Kershia-Leigh Stols and Bafana Twala.
The allegations against Mkhwanazi stem from testimony given by Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D.
Van der Merwe, who was later killed in December last year, claimed Mbense died after being tortured by a group that included EMPD officers and private security personnel on 15 April 2022.
According to his testimony, police informer Jaco Hanekom summoned Mkhwanazi to the scene, where the senior officer allegedly instructed that Mbense’s body be dumped at the Duduza dam in Nigel.
EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi details ‘close’ relationship with informer
Under questioning, Mkhwanazi acknowledged both a professional and personal relationship with Hanekom, describing him as a trusted informer.
He also disclosed that their “close” connection extended into business, with the pair attempting to profit from buying and reselling vehicles.
“He was buying cars through Facebook… then he would paint it, and put fresh rims and tires,” the EMPD deputy chief told the commission.
Mkhwanazi claimed that the cars were “selling very fast,” and this prompted him to invest R100 000 earned from his clothing business.
The commission has previously heard claims that Hanekom, who was killed at a filling station in March 2023, had a criminal record and allegedly impersonated an EMPD officer using documentation said to have been signed by Mkhwanazi.
Emmanuel Mbense murder
Mkhwanazi distanced himself from Mbense’s murder, repeating the version he provided to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
He testified that Hanekom phoned him in the early hours of the morning about a successful recovery of stolen goods.
“Jaco will call you at any time, with positive information,” the EMPD deputy chief said.
Mkhwanazi testified that he briefly visited the location in Brakpan, spoke to Hanekom and left the scene after realising it was not an EMPD-led operation and that members of the South African Police Service (Saps) were already present.
He claimed that he was upset about this.
“I said [to Hanekom] ‘No, don’t call me for such things’. I was very angry.”
He also told the commission that when he left, he drove further along the street because he suspected that “they” seemed to want to remove items from the recovered truck.
Mkhwanazi stressed that he was unaware of the events that occurred at the scene or prior to his arrival, as no EMPD officer had briefed him about the operation.
Madlanga commission questions testimony
However, the commission questioned the credibility of Mkhwanazi’s account.
The commission’s chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga challenged his explanation of why he responded to the call without confirming details.
“You are called; you are told about a success. You do not ask whose success, you do not ask whose operation, you do not ask who is there – you just up and go. Do you want us to believe that?
“It could have turned out to be nothing. It could have turned out to be a damp squib. You just up and go at 02:00am, and you want us to believe that?” Madlanga said.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi highlighted the absence of official records relating to the alleged recovery and questioned why Mkhwanazi, as a senior officer, would leave a potentially unlawful scene without intervention.
“Something is seriously wrong with those facts,” Baloyi said.
‘I don’t sleep at night’
Meanwhile, commissioner Sandile Khumalo pressed Mkhwanazi on why van der Merwe would falsely implicate him.
“He says you introduced yourself, so he knows that it is you and that it was you who said he must dump the body in the Nigel River.
“He is not guessing; he said it was you. Why would he implicate you in something so serious?”
Mkhwanazi denied any involvement in Mbense’s killing.
“I have never been part of such things in my life. I don’t believe in violence.”
He told the commission the accusations against him have “changed” and “destroyed” his life.
“People must be arrested so that the family can have closure,” Mkhwanazi said.
The EMPD deputy chief added: “I don’t sleep at night.”
At least 12 individuals have been identified as persons of interest in Mbense’s killing, including four suspects who have since died.
Among them are Hanekom, van der Merwe, Wiandre Pretorius – who died by suicide in February 2026 – and EMPD constable Raymond Mzwakhe Khoza, who was killed in October 2023.
Pretorius’s fiancée, Juan Mare Eksteen, has also been implicated and is currently suspended.
Payments raise suspicion
Evidence leader Mahlephe Sello presented bank records showing that Hanekom transferred a total of R96 000 to Mkhwanazi in three instalments.
Two initial amounts, R16 000 and R15 000, were paid in December 2021, followed by a further deposit of R65 000 towards the end of January 2022.
Mkhwanazi maintained the funds were repayments linked to their failed vehicle business.
“He started to give me my money back. He gave me less than R100 000.”
Sello, however, suggested the payments could be tied to proceeds from a hijacking operation allegedly involving Mkhwanazi, Hanekom, Stols and McKenzie.
Mkhwanazi denied any such link, stating that tensions existed between Hanekom and the two officers.
“I don’t know what was the conflict.”
Baloyi highlighted that, despite claims of friction, Stols had confirmed in an affidavit that Hanekom contacted her on 14 April 2022 about a recovered truck in Brakpan.
“What we know from at least that Mbense matter is that they were all participants and cooperated in activities where someone ended up dead,” she said.
