Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi is among five people arrested in connection with the alleged murder of robbery suspect Emmanuel Mbense in April 2022.
The suspects, who include EMPD officers, SAPS members and a private citizen, are expected to appear in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. They face charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
It is alleged the suspects were involved in Mbense’s murder, the dumping of his body at Spaarwater Dam in Duduza, and failing to report the crime.
Mbense disappeared after police raided his home on 14 April 2022 in connection with a business robbery in Boksburg North. His body was discovered the following day by a passer-by at Spaarwater Dam.
This is the fourth time Mkhwanazi has been arrested this year on various criminal charges.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) spokesperson Lizzy Suping confirmed the arrests.
“They allegedly played a role in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense, the dumping of his body at Spaarwater Dam in Duduza, and failing to report a crime,” Suping said.
She added that Mbense had been implicated in a business robbery in Boksburg North, prompting the police raid on his home on 14 April 2022.
“He disappeared on the same day of the raid, and his body was discovered on 15 April 2022 at Spaarwater Dam by a passer-by,” she said.
After concluding its investigation, IPID referred the completed docket to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in February 2026 for a decision.
The watchdog also recommended that SAPS and the EMPD institute disciplinary proceedings against the implicated officers in terms of Section 30 of the IPID Act.
Suping said the Act requires employers to institute disciplinary proceedings within 30 days of receiving IPID’s recommendations and to submit written progress reports to the Minister of Police, with a copy to the IPID Executive Director.
She said SAPS submitted a report to IPID in April 2026 outlining the disciplinary sanctions imposed on its two members, both of whom held the rank of sergeant.
The EMPD has acknowledged receipt of IPID’s recommendations but has yet to provide a report on the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against its members.
More details are expected to emerge when the matter is heard in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court.
