After an almost four-hour-long search using camera surveillance and intelligence, the police’s tactical response team finally got their man, nabbing suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi at a property in Kensington, Johannesburg, on Friday.
The arrest came after the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) tried to execute an arrest warrant on Mkhwanazi at his home in Alberton, only to be told by a child that “dad wasn’t home”.
Undeterred, police regrouped and, in liaison with other units, were able to track his movements using CCTV footage that showed Mkhwanazi travelled in his vehicle some 10km, where he took a Kensington off-ramp.
This led them to a home in the suburb, but Mkhwanazi was not there. A few minutes later, they found him at another home in the same street just before 8pm.
Mkhwanazi was arrested for his alleged role in a 2023 raid on a property in the Johannesburg suburb of Killarney, where precious stones worth about R15m were allegedly seized.
It is understood that Mkhwanazi learnt that Ipid investigators last week arrested a woman who had previously testified as “Witness K” before the Madlanga commission and, fearing he was next, left his home to avoid spending several days in detention before a court appearance.
The team conducting surveillance was mapping his movements. We went to one house in Kensington but found him at a second house in the same street
— Lizzy Shuping, Ipid spokesperson
The woman, a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officer, allegedly implicated Mkhwanazi in the alleged precious stones heist, which is under investigation by Ipid.
Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Shuping said investigators had relied on surveillance to locate the “second suspect”.
“I can’t reveal who we worked with, but we relied on surveillance. The team conducting surveillance was mapping his movements. We went to one house in Kensington but found him at a second house in the same street,” Shuping said.
“I cannot confirm their names until they appear in court on Monday,” she added, but the Sunday Times can confirm that it was Mkhwanazi and “Witness K” who were arrested.
Shuping said that Mkhwanazi could not be reached telephonically when officers found he was not at home before they tracked him to Kensington. But she declined to “speculate” if he may have been attempting to evade arrest on Friday to avoid having to spend the weekend in a police cell.
Another senior police officer, Col Ismail Dawood of crime intelligence, could also not be located at his Johannesburg home on Friday when police attempted to arrest him in connection with an unrelated extortion investigation.
Dawood’s lawyer, Piet du Plessis, told the Sunday Times that police had acted unprofessionally in the manner in which they sought to arrest his client, whom he described as “a well-known police officer”.
“If they were serious about doing their duty, they could have arranged a meeting and given him an opportunity to consult with a lawyer,” Du Plessis said.
He said his client was not evading arrest and was not seeking special treatment.
“It’s a publicity exercise to have the arrest take place on a Friday so that the person spends the weekend in custody. Col Dawood has made arrangements to hand himself over properly,” Du Plessis said.
He said there was no need for an arrest warrant and that a summons would have been sufficient to secure Dawood’s appearance in court.
“This was designed to punish him by keeping him in custody over the weekend, arranging the arrest late on a Friday afternoon when the courts are closed, knowing full well that he cannot obtain station bail.”
Du Plessis further alleged that notifying the media in advance of the arrest was intended to create a public spectacle.
“If we want to play games, let’s play games. But if we are serious about justice, let’s be professional,” he said.
Mkhwanazi is out on bail in two other criminal matters. One relates to Ekurhuleni city manager Kagiso Lerutla. The state alleges Lerutla paid R400,000 for an impersonator to appear in court on his behalf after he was arrested for speeding in 2019. His court appearance allegedly clashed with an interview for the Ekurhuleni CFO position at the time, and Mkhwanazi is accused of arranging for the impersonator to appear in court.
More than a week ago, Mkhwanazi was released on R50,000 bail in a separate fraud and corruption case involving the installation of blue lights in vehicles belonging to alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
In that matter, Mkhwanazi is charged alongside former Ekurhuleni city manager Imogen Mashazi, suspended head of legal services Khemraj Behari and suspended head of human resources Linda Gxasheka.
Shuping said the two suspects arrested on Friday would appear in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Monday.
“The suspects were initially six when the investigation began. They were from the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department, JMPD, Gauteng Traffic Police and included a private citizen. One suspect has since died,” Shuping said.
She said the suspects allegedly conducted an investigation outside their area of jurisdiction, while others acted beyond the scope of their official responsibilities.
Shuping further alleged that one suspect impersonated a police officer during the illegal raid in which the precious stones were allegedly stolen.
Two other accused in the matter, Kersha Stoltz and Adrian MacKenzie, were granted R5,000 bail each on Thursday, while charges against businessman Etienne van der Walt were withdrawn this week.
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