Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and his former girlfriend, known only as Witness K, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where they were each granted R5 000 bail in connection with a brazen robbery of precious stones worth approximately R15 million.

The pair will join their co-accused, EMPD officer Adrian Norman Mackenzie and former EMPD officer Keisha Leigh Stols, when the case returns to court on 25 August for further investigation.

The state alleges that the accused participated in a staged police raid at a flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, on 11 February 2023. During the operation, masked individuals wearing police uniforms assaulted the complainant, Pieter Prinsloo, and threatened occupants with firearms before seizing six boxes containing high-grade sugilite and manganese stones.

Witness K, a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department inspector who testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in June, told the commission that Mkhwanazi orchestrated the robbery under the guise of a legitimate police operation. She alleged that the stolen stones were later sold for R110 000, which was divided among participants at a carwash.

During her testimony, heard in camera due to safety concerns, Witness K claimed the relationship with Mkhwanazi deteriorated after she could no longer afford to pay for his personal expenses, including groceries, legal fees and his children’s school fees.

Mkhwanazi has denied the allegations, maintaining that he was leading a legitimate operation to seize the stones.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate arrested Mkhwanazi at a property in Kensington, Johannesburg, on 17 July. Witness K was arrested at her home in Gauteng the same day.

Mackenzie and Stols were granted bail of R5 000 each on 16 July. During their bail application, the pair claimed they were acting on instructions from Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi was initially suspended from his position as EMPD deputy chief in November 2025 following damning testimony at the Madlanga Commission regarding a separate case involving allegations of a rogue unit accused of kidnapping, extortion and facilitating illegal blue lights for a local businessman.

The National Prosecuting Authority said it remains committed to ensuring that all prosecutions are conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with the law.

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