An Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officer and a businessman appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on charges linked to an alleged 2023 robbery of precious stones worth R14.9 million.
Adrian Norman Mackenzie and Etienne van der Walt faced charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud on 6 July 2026. Prosecutors allege the pair took part in a staged operation in Killarney, Johannesburg, that month in February 2023, during which six boxes of sugilite and manganese stones were seized under false pretences of a joint law enforcement raid.
The case follows testimony given to the Madlanga Commission on 23 June by a witness identified as Witness K. She described the planning and execution of the raid and named suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi as a key figure.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping said the two men are among five suspects facing corruption charges. A third suspect handed herself in at Edenvale Police Station on 6 July and is due to appear in court on 7 July. Mackenzie and Van der Walt remain in custody ahead of a bail application scheduled for 16 July 2026.
