By Johnathan Paoli
The Madlanga Commission’s inquiry into alleged criminality within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) reached a dramatic and deeply troubling turning point on Friday afternoon when a protected witness identified as Witness D delivered harrowing testimony describing the torture, murder, and cover-up of a robbery suspect, as well as a sprawling extortion scheme allegedly linked to officers reporting to suspended EMPD chief Julius Mkhwanazi.
The commission resumed its EMPD-focused stream with evidence leader Mahlape Sello announcing that Witness D’s identity and face would be concealed due to the gravity of the allegations and the danger he could face for speaking out.
According to Sello, the testimony relates to one of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) cases referenced earlier by former EMPD officer Marius Spies.
What unfolded over the next hours cast one of the darkest shadows yet over the conduct of officers tied to Mkhwanazi.
Witness D, a private security operator, testified that on 15 April 2022 he received a series of calls from security company owner Kobus Janse van Rensburg about an operation to apprehend a Brakpan man suspected of involvement in a warehouse robbery.
Initially home caring for his sick son, he eventually joined the operation — a decision he now describes as fateful.
Upon arrival, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
Among those present were notorious SAPS informer Jaco Hanekom, several police officers, an unidentified man posing as a police officer, and EMPD officers who reported directly to Mkhwanazi, several of whom have been implicated in criminal conduct in earlier testimony.
Despite this, the group proceeded, successfully apprehending the unnamed suspect, who quickly admitted involvement in the warehouse robbery.
The man pleaded not to be harmed and offered officers a R500 000 bribe.
That, Witness D said, was the moment the atmosphere “changed completely”.
Two officers forced the suspect into a room. A search of the house yielded stolen case dockets, SAPS forensic materials, ammunition, welding tools and garden equipment.
Moments later, Witness D saw the suspect being “tubed”, in other words suffocated with a plastic bag, a recognised form of torture.
The scene quickly spiralled. Witness D said a female EMPD officer ordered everyone outside.
Two unknown SAPS officers exited the house with a small black sports bag.
When he asked if the suspect had cooperated, one replied chillingly: “He will never ever talk again.”
Another officer spoke of calling crime intelligence boss Feroz Khan “to fix this”.
Hanekom assured the group that the chief allegedly referring to Mkhwanazi would sort out the mess.
Officers began searching for a firearm to plant on the dead suspect.
Then, Witness D said, Mkhwanazi arrived in a dark tracksuit. He allegedly instructed the group to dump the body in a dam or mineshaft. “
He refused to look at the suspect’s body out of fear. He sent his live location to his wife, instructing her to call the police if he did not check in within 90 minutes.
Under pressure, he helped dispose of the body, placing the man’s feet in the water. Afterward, he said, some officers went for drinks.
The witness then detailed what he described as an extensive extortion racket involving EMPD officers and private security companies linked to Mkhwanazi.
Some security owners, he said, received “appointment letters” falsely designating them members of a “truck recovery unit”.
He said these groups staged truck robberies, then charged “recovery fees” to victims; an operation he characterised as systemic, organised extortion.
“These crimes are well-documented,” he said, “but nothing has happened.”
Witness D reported the murder to both the Hawks and IPID, but says the last contact he received from IPID was in 2023.
Police also warned him that the officers involved were “very dangerous”.
“I fear this group and others like it… Left unchecked, it’s going to create a massive problem for society’s trust in the police and private security,” he said.
With Witness D’s damning testimony, Sello confirmed he is the final witness in the EMPD stream, for now.
The commission resumes on Monday.
INSIDE METROS