Julius Mkhwanazi, the suspended deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), was expected to apply for bail at the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 13 August 2026, alongside four co-accused charged with the murder of businessman Emmanuel Mbense.
The five have been in custody for a week and face three charges, namely murder, robbery and defeating the ends of justice, as reported by Eyewitness News.
Mbense was allegedly tortured to death in 2022 and his body dumped at Spaarwater Dam near Nigel.
Mkhwanazi was arrested on Wednesday, 5 August 2026 alongside the same co-accused, a development Swisher Post reported at the time.
They are former EMPD officer Kersha-Leigh Stols, suspended EMPD officer Adrian Mackenzie, private security firm owner Kobus Janse van Rensburg and police officer Bekokwakhe Sibande.
Why the State is opposing Julius Mkhwanazi bail
The State is opposing bail on the basis that the accused face a Schedule 6 murder charge, the most serious classification in South African bail law. Under Schedule 6, the onus shifts to the defence to show exceptional circumstances that justify release.
Mkhwanazi’s lawyer, Advocate Peter Wilkins, has disputed that classification. Wilkins contends that his client could at most face a charge of being an accessory after the fact, arguing that Mkhwanazi was called to the scene only after Mbense had already been killed.
What the State alleges in the Mkhwanazi bail case
The State alleges that about R500 000 in cash and a welding machine were among the items taken from Mbense during the robbery. It further alleges that the group met in Calvinia after the killing, where members were sworn to secrecy under threat of death.
A sixth accused, former police flying squad member Juan Eksteen, was added to the case on Thursday. Mbense’s family learned what had happened to him only through testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where a witness known as Witness D, identified as Marius van der Merwe, implicated himself and others.
Pressure on Ekurhuleni over the Julius Mkhwanazi case
Separately, Democratic Alliance Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane renewed his call for the City of Ekurhuleni to dismiss Mkhwanazi, describing him as “a huge embarrassment to Ekurhuleni” and noting that he has continued to draw a salary throughout his suspension.
None of the six accused has entered a plea, and no finding of guilt has been made against any of them. No bail conditions have been placed on record.
The magistrate must now rule on whether the defence has met the Schedule 6 threshold, a decision that determines whether the five remain in custody.
