Overview
- IPID arrested suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and a Johannesburg Metro Police inspector known as Witness K on Friday in connection with the 2023 seizure of precious stones valued at about R14.9–15 million.
- Both suspects are due to appear at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 20 July, as the directorate continues to execute outstanding warrants and pursue other people of interest.
- On 16 July the court withdrew charges against private security owner Etienne van der Walt and granted R5,000 bail each to EMPD officer Adrian MacKenzie and former EMPD officer Kersha Leigh Stols, who remain linked to the same probe.
- IPID alleges the accused unlawfully raided a Killarney apartment without a warrant, seized six boxes of sugilite and manganese stones, failed to register the exhibits with SAPS and in at least one case impersonated a police officer.
- The arrests follow Witness K’s in‑camera Madlanga Commission testimony that she and Mkhwanazi plotted the seizure, a claim that could expand oversight questions about EMPD conduct and affect pending prosecutorial decisions.