Chilling testimony details torture, killings and abduction linked to suspended EMPD deputy chief
New allegations of brutality and criminality within the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) have emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where two witnesses have linked suspended deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi to extrajudicial killings, torture, and intimidation.
On Friday, a witness identified only as Witness D gave harrowing testimony describing how EMPD officers — including women — allegedly tortured a robbery suspect to death before calling Mkhwanazi and a senior SAPS officer, General Khan, to the scene. His account corroborates earlier testimony from former EMPD divisional commissioner Revo Spies, who claimed officers under Mkhwanazi killed a suspect and forced a civilian to dump the body.
According to Witness D, the suspect was suffocated with a plastic and tube while officers attempted to extract information.
“He said he had R500,000 and begged us not to harm him,” the witness testified. “I asked if the suspect talked, and an officer replied he would ‘never ever talk again’.”
He told the commission that upon arriving, Mkhwanazi instructed that the body be dumped in a mine shaft or dam, and ordered that it be transported in the witness’s bakkie to avoid suspicion.
“I was outnumbered… it was clear I was expected to dispose of the body,” he said, adding that he feared for his life.
Commissioners pressed him on his role in the killing. He maintained that he did not participate in the torture but could not refuse the order to dump the body.
Earlier, EMPD spokesperson and head of media, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelebogile Thepa, testified about her own alleged ordeal at the hands of Mkhwanazi’s associates. She recounted being abducted by armed men who forced her neighbour into the back seat and attempted to access her phone before abandoning her when she had a seizure.
Upon returning to work, she was alarmed to learn that a female colleague linked to Mkhwanazi had been urgently seeking her — convincing her that he orchestrated the attack.
The commission continues to hear evidence of a so-called “Special Force” allegedly established by Mkhwanazi, which witnesses say operated outside the law and enjoyed political protection within the Ekurhuleni municipality.