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Suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday to apply for bail for the third time in 2025, as mounting criminal charges continue to tighten around one of South Africa’s most embattled law enforcement figures. Alongside him stood his former girlfriend, known only as Witness K, a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department officer. The two face charges of stealing precious stones worth R14.9 million from a flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, in February 2023 — a case now at the centre of a sweeping police corruption probe.
Mkhwanazi’s legal troubles did not begin here. His first arrest came on 18 April, as part of a broader investigation into corruption within the EMPD. A second arrest followed on 8 July, this time linked to the alleged unlawful installation of blue lights on four vehicles. The very next day, he was arrested again alongside former Ekurhuleni city manager Imogen Mashazi, suspended head of legal Adv. Kemi Behari, and suspended head of human resources Linda Gxasheka. The state alleges that Mashazi and Gxasheka shielded Mkhwanazi after he was accused of fraudulently fitting blue lights to a fleet belonging to businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. That group was released on R50,000 bail.
His third and most recent arrest came on Friday, 17 July, when the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) tracked him to Bedfordview and detained him just after 7pm. IPID confirmed that delays in arresting Mkhwanazi and Witness K had nothing to do with an inability to locate them — outstanding paperwork was the only hold-up.
Mkhwanazi is now the fifth suspect linked to the Killarney gemstone theft. IPID’s investigation centres on what it describes as a bogus police operation that was used as cover to raid a private apartment and steal the stones. Two EMPD officers, Kersha-Leigh Stols and Adrian Mackenzie, were arrested earlier in July and released on R5,000 bail each. A third suspect, Ettienne van der Walt, had his charges withdrawn and is expected to testify as a state witness when the case goes to trial. It is Mackenzie and Stols who have named Mkhwanazi and Witness K as the alleged masterminds of the entire operation.
The Madlanga Commission heard explosive testimony from Witness K herself. She told the Commission that she tipped Mkhwanazi off about the gemstones stored in the Killarney apartment, claiming he was under severe financial pressure at the time and needed fast cash. Together, she alleged, they planned the theft under the guise of a joint JMPD and EMPD operation. The gemstones, worth nearly R15 million, were later sold for a reported R110,000 — a fraction of their value.
Mkhwanazi flatly rejects this version of events. He insists he led a legitimate police operation to recover the stones, not a theft. IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping told reporters that the five suspects allegedly raided the Killarney property without a warrant, with at least one impersonating a police officer, others operating outside their jurisdiction, and none of them registering the seized stones in the South African Police Service’s occurrence book at any police station.
In court on Monday, Mkhwanazi’s lawyer, Tian Peters, requested time to study the charge sheet before proceeding with the bail application. The state did not oppose bail. Prosecutor Nceba Ntelwa stated there was no indication that either applicant posed a flight risk or would evade trial. Both Mkhwanazi and Witness K were granted R5,000 bail each — bringing Mkhwanazi’s total bail payments across his three arrests this year to R80,000.
The legal web around Mkhwanazi stretches further still. IPID is awaiting a decision from the National Prosecuting Authority over his alleged involvement in covering up the murder of Emmanuel Mbense. He also faces an internal disciplinary hearing and has come under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission for allegedly facilitating the unlawful registration of private vehicles as municipal ones — giving them access to blue lights and other official privileges.
For South Africa’s youth watching institutions they are meant to trust, this case lays bare how deep the rot can run.
