Mkhwanazi concedes Rosebank precious stones raid was not a joint operation with JMPD

By Johnathan Paoli

The Madlanga Commission has heard that suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi conceded that the Rosebank precious stones theft incident involving EMPD officers Kersha-Leigh Stols and Ayden “Adrian” Mackenzie was not a joint operation with Johannesburg Metro Police.

Testifying on Wednesday afternoon in Pretoria, Mkhwanazi said the operation could not technically be classified as joint, as there was no valid documentation supporting such an arrangement.

Evidence leader senior counsel Mahlape Sello took Mkhwanazi through Stols’ formal statement, highlighting that it contained no reference to any instruction from him.

After reviewing the statement, Mkhwanazi said he believed it was incomplete.

However, Commissioner Sesi Baloyi challenged his version, stressing that the commission could only rely on accounts of those physically present at the scene.

“You and I can only work on what the people who were on the scene tell us. Who went there and what they tell us. Firstly, they got a call to come and assist and you’ve conceded that nowhere in the statements do they say they were tasked by you, right? Both of them say there was a call and then they proceeded to Rosebank,” Baloyi said.

She further noted that photographic evidence and statements confirmed only three individuals — Mackenzie, Stols, and security figure and commission-named Etienne van der Walt — were present inside the property where the stones were seized.

“So on the documents before us there is no evidence that there was anyone from the JMPD on that day,” Baloyi said.

Mkhwanazi initially maintained that a JMPD officer known as “Motso” had been involved, as referenced in Stols’ statement, saying he had been informed of the officer’s involvement by subordinates.

But under sustained questioning, he conceded that, based on the available statements, “the operation was not a joint