By Mapaballo Borotho

- Five members of the EMPD and SAPS have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the 2022 murder of Brakpan businessman Emmanuel Mbense.
- The arrests follow an IPID investigation into the case, which was also raised during the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
- The suspects are expected to appear before the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Five suspects from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday, 05 August 2026, by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
Mbense, a Brakpan businessman, was killed in April 2022 at his home in Brakpan. His lifeless body was later discovered in a dam in Nigel with his car keys and driver’s licence in his pocket.
In his chilling testimony before the Madlanga Commission, Witness D implicated the suspended EMPD head, Julius Mkhwanazi, in Mbense’s murder.
Witness D, whose real name is Marius van der Merwe, alleged that Mkhwanazi assisted law enforcement officials in the City of Ekurhuleni in covering up the 2022 murder case.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping says all five suspects will appear before the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 06 August 2026.
“The suspects face charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. They allegedly played a role in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense, the dumping of his body at Spaarwater Dam in Duduza, Nigel, and failing to report a crime,” said Suping.
Circumstances surrounding Mbense’s murder
Emmanuel Mbense was allegedly implicated in a business robbery in Boksburg North, leading to a police raid at his home on 14 April 2022.
He disappeared on the same day as the raid, and his body was discovered on 15 April 2022 at Spaarwater Dam by a passerby.
After concluding its investigation on this matter, IPID referred the finalised investigation report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in February 2026 for a decision.
Suping says more information on the matter will be ventilated in court.
This is a developing story. Follow updates as the story unfolds @Kaya News on X.
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