COURTROOM PHOTO COURTESY OF SABC
REPORT UPDATE: Staff Reporter 13, August, 2026
The bail hearing in the murder case of Emmanuel Mbense involving former EMPD boss Juilius Mkhwanazi and his co-accused has been postponed until Friday, August 14, 2026. Juan Maree Eksteen joined the five accused – Mkhwanazi, Keisha-Leigh Stols, Adriaan MacKenzie, Bhekokwakhe Sibande and Cobus Janse van Rensburg. All six sat for bail hearings at the Brakpan magistrate court on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
Eksteen is the wife of Wiandre Pretorious, a suspect in the Mbense murder case who had since committed suicide. Eksteen joined the other five in this Mbense matter to bring the number of accused to six.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Staff Reporter | Ekurhuleni, 6 August 2026
Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi and his four co-accused will remain in custody until at least next Thursday, 13 August, after their bail application in the murder case of businessman Emmanuel Mbense was postponed. Proceedings in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday were dominated by a dispute over whether the matter should be classified as a Schedule 6 offence — a classification that would place the burden on the accused to show exceptional circumstances before bail can be considered.
The State, represented by prosecutor Nceba Ntelwa, told the court it would oppose bail for all five accused and argued that the case, involving a killing carried out in the course of a robbery by a group, meets the Schedule 6 threshold. Defence lawyers pushed back, arguing the charge sheet does not support that classification and that they had not been given enough information to respond to the State’s opposition. The magistrate postponed the matter to allow the State time to consider what it can disclose.
Who’s in the Dock
Mkhwanazi appeared alongside four co-accused: former EMPD officer Keisha-Leigh Stols, EMPD officer Adrian MacKenzie, SAPS officer Bhekokwakhe Sibande and civilian Cobus Janse van Rensburg. All five face a charge of murder, linked to the alleged torture and killing of Mbense at his Brakpan home in April 2022 and the dumping of his body in a dam near Nigel, as well as a charge of defeating the ends of justice.
| Julius Mkhwanazi Suspended EMPD deputy chief Faces murder and defeating-the-ends-of-justice charges over the Mbense case. His lawyer argues the allegations amount, at most, to being an accessory after the fact — not a Schedule 6 offence. It is his fourth arrest this year; he is already out on bail in three other matters, including the precious-stones case below. | Keisha-Leigh Stols Former EMPD officer Co-accused with Mkhwanazi in both the Mbense murder matter and the separate R14.9 million precious-stones case, in which she and Adrian MacKenzie were granted bail in July. |
| Adrian MacKenzie EMPD officer Also doubly co-accused alongside Stols — in the murder matter now before the Brakpan court, and in the earlier precious-stones case, where prosecutors say he and Stols acted on instructions attributed to Mkhwanazi. | Bhekokwakhe Sibande SAPS officer, Brakpan Named only in the murder matter. Sibande previously surfaced in testimony before the Madlanga Commission, where IPID investigators linked him to irregular policing activity connected to the Mbense case file. |
| Cobus Janse van Rensburg Civilian The only private citizen among the five. He appears in the Mbense case docket alongside the police and metro police accused, but — unlike Sibande — has not featured prominently in public Madlanga Commission testimony, and little further background on him is publicly available. | |
How the Precious-Stones Case Fits In
Stols and MacKenzie’s presence in the murder case is not their only overlap with Mkhwanazi. The pair are also his co-accused in a separate matter over the alleged theft of R14.9 million in sugilite and manganese stones from a Killarney apartment in February 2023. Mkhwanazi and a Johannesburg Metro Police officer known publicly as Witness K were arrested in that case on 17 July and granted R5,000 bail each; Stols and MacKenzie had already been granted bail earlier, on 16 July, and are due back in court on 25 August. Sibande and Van Rensburg are not accused in the stones matter — their charges relate solely to the Mbense case.
Background: the Mbense Case
Mbense, a businessman allegedly implicated in a warehouse robbery in Boksburg North, is said to have died on 15 April 2022 after being tortured by police and EMPD officers while in custody. Testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry — given by Marius van der Merwe, previously known only as “Witness D” before he was shot dead outside his Brakpan home in December 2025 — implicated Mkhwanazi in ordering that Mbense’s body be disposed of after the assault, either at a mine dump or in a river. His body was ultimately found by a passer-by at Spaarwater Dam. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has said its wider investigation involved 12 suspects in total — four from SAPS, three from EMPD and five private citizens — and that it referred its findings to the National Prosecuting Authority in February 2026.
A Mounting List of Cases
Beyond the murder and precious-stones matters, Mkhwanazi faces a broader web of allegations that have emerged largely through his own testimony at the Madlanga Commission:
- Unlawfully facilitating blue-light installations on vehicles belonging to businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, without authorisation from the City of Ekurhuleni.
- Approving 55 allegedly irregular promotions of directors, superintendents and inspectors within the EMPD.
- The alleged kidnapping of EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa, which he denies.
- A Commission warning over alleged inconsistencies in his sworn testimony and claims he sought to mislead proceedings when requesting a postponement.
Mkhwanazi has consistently denied wrongdoing across the various matters and has distanced himself from the murder allegations in particular. He remains suspended from his post pending the outcome of the criminal cases and internal disciplinary proceedings.
What Happens Next
With Thursday’s bail application postponed to 13 August, Mkhwanazi, Stols, MacKenzie, Sibande and Van Rensburg will spend the intervening period in custody. The State says it needs time to determine what information it can disclose to the defence before the bail argument resumes. Separately, Mkhwanazi and Witness K are due back in court on 25 August in the precious-stones matter, alongside Stols and MacKenzie. The Madlanga Commission’s work continues, and further developments are expected as IPID and the NPA proceed with the outstanding matters.
Compiled from IPID and court reporting on the Mbense murder case and the Killarney precious-stones matter.
