The murder case against suspended EMPD Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and four co-accused has been postponed to next week. Image: NPA
Emmanuel Mbense
1Min
South Africa
Mkhwanazi murder case postponed to August 13
The murder case against suspended EMPD Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and four co-accused has been postponed to next week, giving prosecutors time to consider several legal applications brought by the defence.
The Brakpan Magistrate's Court has postponed the murder case against suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and four co-accused to allow the State to consider legal applications filed by the defence.
Mkhwanazi, 50, appeared in court on Thursday alongside businessman Cobus Janse van Rensburg, former EMPD official Adrian Norman Mackenzie and former South African Police Service (SAPS) officers Bhekokwakhe Sibande and Keisha-Leigh Stols.
The five are charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating the administration of justice.
The matter was postponed to August 13, 2026, after several applications were submitted by the legal representatives of some of the accused. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the postponement would allow the State sufficient time to consider those applications before the case proceeds.
According to the prosecution, the charges stem from the alleged killing of Emmanuel Mbense at his home on April 14, 2022.
The State alleges the accused assaulted and killed Mbense after suspecting him of stealing copper from a warehouse. Prosecutors further allege that the group robbed him of personal belongings and approximately R500,000 in cash before dumping his body at Spaarwater Dam in an attempt to conceal the crime.
The matter is being prosecuted by the NPA following an investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
