State to oppose bail for suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and four co-accused

Arrests and court appearance

Five suspects, including the suspended EMPD deputy chief, were arrested on Wednesday and brought before the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The arrests followed investigations into allegations that Mbense was tortured and killed at his Brakpan home in April 2022, and that his body was later dumped in a dam in Duduza, Nigel.

Allegations aired at the Madlanga Commission

The killing and claims of a subsequent cover-up were detailed at the Madlanga Commission. The commission was established after KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held a media briefing on 6 July 2025 that raised allegations of corruption, the shielding of criminal suspects and political interference within the police and justice system.

Evidence presented to the commission implicated the suspended EMPD deputy chief in an alleged cover-up of Mbense’s death. Witness testimony from the late Marius van der Merwe, who testified as Witness D, said Mkhwanazi was called after Mbense was killed and that he instructed those present to dump Mbense’s body at a mine dump or in a river. Van der Merwe told the commission that Mkhwanazi looked directly at him when giving the instruction and that he understood it as a direction to carry out the act.

Van der Merwe was shot dead outside his Brakpan home on 5 December 2025, weeks after giving his testimony at the commission.

Family reaction

Mbense’s family welcomed the arrests. Speaking to SABC News after the arrests on Wednesday night, the family said they had been waiting for the suspects to be brought before the courts.

“This has been long-awaited from us. At some point our faith was tested, where we felt like it’s never going to happen. But today the wheels of the justice system are turning in the right direction. First and foremost, I’d like to thank God, because without him I don’t believe we would have been here. Also, to thank Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, because had it not been for the press conference of July 6, where would we be?”

The family said hearing details at the commission about what allegedly happened to Emmanuel was painful but helped them understand the events of the night he died. They said they were grateful the matter would now proceed through the courts.