Two accused in the R14.9 million precious stones robbery, an EMPD officer and a former colleague, were each granted R5,000 bail in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 16 July 2026, on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud.
Adrian MacKenzie, a serving Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officer, and Kersha-Leigh Stols, a former officer, appeared before Magistrate Annelise Tlhapi, who set bail at R5,000 each, as reported by News24.
The pair face charges linked to the confiscation of high-grade stones from a flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, 11 February 2023.
What the court heard about the precious stones robbery
Stols gave the court an account of the day the stones were taken.
“After introducing ourselves we confiscated six boxes containing stones,” she said, adding that the plan had been to book the boxes at a police station before the operation changed course.
According to her statement, that plan collapsed when a senior figure arrived. Stols told the court they “were halted when Mkhwanazi arrived at the scene and instructed accused one and I to return to the Nando’s in Alberton to meet with Witness K”, who then said she would take over the matter as it fell under her jurisdiction as a JMPD officer.
The State did not oppose bail. State advocate Nceba Ntelwa told the court that both MacKenzie and Stols had handed themselves over to police and were not flight risks, noting that the case dated back to 2023, that they knew of the pending charges, and that they “did not run”.
How Julius Mkhwanazi fits into the case
The allegations first surfaced publicly in June 2026, when a protected witness known as Witness K, an inspector in the JMPD’s VIP Protection Unit, testified before the Madlanga Commission, coverage Swisher Post has followed closely.
She alleged that suspended senior EMPD officer Julius Mkhwanazi had orchestrated the robbery.
Witness K claimed the plot took shape after her relationship with Mkhwanazi deteriorated, telling the commission she could no longer afford his groceries, legal fees and his children’s school fees.
She said the team was paid R110,000 for stones valued at R14.9 million, a fraction of their worth on the open market. The haul was high-grade sugilite and manganese, prized far beyond that figure.
Mkhwanazi has denied the allegations and has not been arrested in connection with the case. With MacKenzie and Stols now out on bail and charges withdrawn against another accused, attention turns to whether prosecutors move against the man both the commission and the court heard named as the architect.
