Police and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate have arrested suspended EMPD Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi over his alleged role in a 2023 theft of precious stones valued at nearly R15 million. Witness K, a former Joburg Metro Police officer who testified at the Madlanga Commission, was arrested earlier in the same case.
Mkhwanazi was taken into custody at a property in Kensington, Johannesburg. Authorities say he will be held at the Germiston police cells.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping confirmed the arrest. She stated that both suspects will appear before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 20 July.
Witness K, identified as Mkhwanazi’s former girlfriend, had told the Madlanga Commission that the pair planned the theft. The commission also heard allegations involving suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police officer Adrian MacKenzie and former EMPD officer Kersha Stols.
