From romance to heist: how Julius Mkhwanazi allegedly orchestrated a R14m gem heist with ex-lover

From stealing precious stones to plotting to have a criminal case thrown out, the Madlanga commission of inquiry has heard explosive evidence detailing how suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi was allegedly involved in a syndicate that stole gems worth about R14m from their owner.

A female inspector from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s (JMPD) VIP unit appeared before the commission on Tuesday.

Testifying in camera under the pseudonym Witness K, she shed light on alleged corruption and deep-seated criminality within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).

During her testimony, she directly implicated Mkhwanazi, with whom she was romantically involved.

Her evidence focused on a specific heist that implicates both Mkhwanazi and the broader EMPD law enforcement structure. Acknowledging her own complicity, Witness K stated she wished to testify fully provided that her identity remained protected, a request the commission granted.

“I have come forward because I want to acknowledge my role in what happened, and I want to give the commission information about the precious stones case,” Witness K testified.

Witness K told the commission that she met Mkhwanazi in 2023, and they began dating later that year. Two months into their relationship, Mkhwanazi, who was suspended at the time, began asking her for money.

“From then on, Mkhwanazi would regularly ask me to lend him money. His requests for financial assistance were very frequent, and despite promising to pay me back, he did not.”

She explained that, as his girlfriend, she tried to support him by buying groceries, contributing to his legal fees and helping pay his children’s school fees.

When her savings were completely depleted, and she could no longer assist him financially, Mkhwanazi allegedly asked her to “keep her ear to the ground” and feed him operational intelligence.

Each of us had our roles to play. I had to coordinate with the informant, secure information regarding the whereabouts of the stones, and ensure that the informant was ready to receive them and make payment. Mr Mkhwanazi had to organise the officers who were going to go in and take the stones.

—  Witness K

Witness K recalled a tip-off she had received six months prior from an informant named “Jango Samuel” regarding an individual illegally possessing precious stones in Killarney. At the time, she could not act on the tip off because she had been moved out of active operations.

When she informed Mkhwanazi about the tip-off — and mentioned that the informant needed accomplices to steal the stones from the owner — Mkhwanazi instructed her to re-establish contact. She subsequently reconnected with Samuel.

The informant took Witness K to the Killarney flat where the stones were being kept, and she passed the geographical details on to Mkhwanazi. The plan was simple: Mkhwanazi would deploy active officers to verify the stones were on-site, steal them and hand them over to the informant.

“Each of us had our roles to play,” Witness K testified.

“I had to coordinate with the informant, secure information regarding the whereabouts of the stones, and ensure that the informant was ready to receive them and make payment. Mr Mkhwanazi had to organise the officers who were going to go in and take the stones.”

In February 2023, while off duty, Witness K met Mkhwanazi at a Nando’s outlet in Randhart in Alberton. There, he introduced her to EMPD officers Kesha Leigh Stols and Norman Mackenzie, who were both in full uniform, as well as a civilian later identified as Andy van der Walt.

Witness K shared the informant’s intelligence with the group and confirmed that the buyer was ready to pay. She noted that everyone present was fully aware of the plot to steal the gems.

Following the meeting, the group split up. Officers Stols and Mackenzie, along with Van der Walt, headed to Killarney to retrieve the stones. Witness K went home, noting she did not know where Mkhwanazi went after the briefing.

During her testimony, Witness K was shown photographs of the Killarney flat taken during the raid, which pictured the three operatives at the scene. Another photograph showed the trio alongside a man in a red top, identified as the owner of the stones.

An hour after Witness K returned home, Stols called her from the scene and put the owner of the stones on the line. Knowing full well that he didn’t have them, Witness K asked the owner if he possessed the necessary legal permits for the gems. Another individual with expert knowledge of precious stone licensing was also added to the call to pressure the victim.

After the owner admitted to not having legal documentation, the three operatives confiscated the stones and left the scene.

The trio then went to a house belonging to a friend of the informant, where they negotiated a payout. The agreed price was a mere R100,000.

However, the informant later expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the gems, alleging that some of the stones were fake. He stated he would speak to his “boss” and return with a final offer they were willing to pay.

On February 12 2023, Witness K met with the informant, who handed over R110,000 in cash. After receiving the money, she called Mkhwanazi, and they met with the other three operatives to split the spoils equally.

“I gave them R88,000 for Mr Mkhwanazi, officers Stols and Mackenzie, as well as Mr Van der Walt,” Witness K testified. “I kept R22,000 for myself.”

Soon after the payout, her relationship with Mkhwanazi ended, and they stopped communicating, she told the commission.

The gravity of the crime soon caught up with them. The owner of the stones opened a formal complaint against the JMPD, prompting the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) to launch a criminal investigation.

While the syndicate was paid just R110,000, the stolen stones were actually valued at approximately R14m. Witness K testified that she felt deeply used when she discovered their true value, admitting she had never thought to investigate the market value of the gems beforehand.

Later, she realised that Stols and Mackenzie had held back a portion of the haul rather than handing it all over to the informant; the missing gems were subsequently discovered hidden in their EMPD offices. Witness K maintained she had no prior knowledge of this double-cross.

The commission then examined WhatsApp conversations between officer Stols and Witness K, which exposed an orchestrated plan to have the pending criminal case thrown out.

On May 6 2023, Stols requested an urgent meeting with Witness K after learning that Ipid was actively investigating the owner’s complaint. While Witness K attempted to stall, Stols kept pressing for a meeting before “he arrests us”, referring to the Ipid investigator Thulani Magagula.

When they finally met, Stols explained to Witness K that Magagula was demanding a warning statement regarding the incident. Stols later forwarded Magagula’s contact details to Witness K, warning her that the investigator would be calling.

The WhatsApp chats paint a picture of a panicking Stols. In an attempt to manage the situation, Witness K promised to handle the matter by registering the gems in an SAPS exhibit book (SAP 13), retrieving the stones from her informant and returning the bribe money.

Stols’ panic escalated to the point where she asked Witness K to find out from Magagula if it would help their case if they resigned, suggesting the investigator’s ultimate goal was to purge them from the EMPD.

Witness K admitted to the commission that though she texted Stols promising to ask him, she never actually did.

Stols then sent a draft picture of her warning statement to Witness K for review and editing. Witness K advised Stols to alter key sections. Specifically, she suggested changing the source of the information from “JMPD” to a generic “informant” to protect her identity.

Furthermore, she instructed Stols to lie and state they had officially booked the stones into the SAP 13 evidence locker, despite knowing that nothing had been registered.

Despite this advice, Stols submitted her statement unchanged.

In a final bid to escape accountability, Stols claimed she had made parallel arrangements to “sort out” the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on her side, implying that someone in the public prosecutor’s office would ensure the case was struck off the roll and made to go away.

Despite their frantic schemes to retrieve the gems to cover their tracks, Witness K concluded her testimony by admitting that she never managed to recover the stolen stones.