By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi was back on the stand at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
On Tuesday, Mkhwanazi’s testimony got off to a rocky start after he was questioned after about a deceased woman, he claimed was his mother. He also dismissed claims that he ordered the kidnapping of EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa.
Mkhwanazi faces a raft of corruption allegations, including using the metro police department as his own personal domain.
Mkhwanazi testified at the commission on Wednesday amid scrutiny over inconsistencies in two statements he submitted about the controversial 2023 operation.
In an initial statement dated 2 May 2023, Mkhwanazi said Constables Kasher-Lee Stols and Adrian McKenzie informed him about a suspect selling fake precious stones.
However, in a supplementary statement submitted this year, he said he and the late Chief Inspector, Gerald Maseko, had jointly instructed the constables to investigate the matter, allegedly under the direction of IPID Assistant Director, Thulani Magagula.
Mkhwanazi told the commission that Magagula advised him on how to structure both statements.
Magagula, however, told the commission he only became aware of Mkhwanazi’s presence at the operation in 2025, after a statement submitted by McKenzie.
The commission has also heard allegations that EMPD officers, under Mkhwanazi’s command, stole precious stones worth more than R14 million during the operation.
Mkhwanazi further testified that he was called by late police informant, Jaco Hanekom, to witness what was described as a successful operation in Brakpan in the early hours on the morning.
He said left shortly after arriving, as the operations was led by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and not EMPD.
Mkhwanazi admitted he did not record the incident or follow up on it, raising further concerns from the commission.
He told the inquiry that months later, IPID informed him that a person had died during the operation and that he was accused of ordering the removal and dumping of the body in the Nigel River, allegations he denies.
The late Marius van der Merwe known as Witness D, testified that Mkhwanazi helped dispose of the body of suspected thief Emmanuel Mbense in 2022.
Van der Merwe, who was shot dead on the driveway of his Brakpan home on December 5, 2025, testified last year that his bakkie was used to transport the body.
He told the commission that when Mbense’s body was being loaded into his bakkie “Julius was still in the yard supervising the whole issue of disposing of the body”.
According to Van der Merwe he was instructed to throw the body into Spaarwater dam and the body sustained no further injuries while in his care.
Evidence leader Advocate Mehlape Sello revisited Van der Merwe’s testimony, which implicated Mkhwanazi in Mbense’s death.
The commission questioned why Mkhwanazi failed to record any information about the scene when he reported for duty later that morning.
Mkhwanazi told the commission he was angry with Hannekom and “so disappointed” in him for failing to provide anything “tangible”.
Commission Chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, criticised Mkhwanazi’s testimony describing it as vague and lacking credibility.
Madlanga said: “I wanted to suggest to you that your evidence is as sparse as it is and it is as senseless as it is. And as Commissioner Sesi Baloyi suggests it is as improbable as it is because you did not want to tell us what actually happened and what you actually saw.”