Brakpan court postpones bail hearing for 6 accused in Emmanuel Mbense murder
A suspended metro police deputy chief and five co-accused face charges of murder and robbery following the 2022 death of a father of five on the East Rand.
The six accused in the murder of 52-year-old Brakpan father of five Emmanuel Mbense will remain behind bars after their case was postponed to Tuesday (August 18), reports Brakpan Herald.
Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi, Cobus Janse van Rensburg, Bhekokwakhe Sibande, Adrian Mackenzie, Keisha-Leigh Stols and Juan-Mare Eksteen appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Friday afternoon (August 14) for the continuation of the formal bail application.
Mbense was tortured and murdered at his home in Brakpan on April 15, 2022. His body was discovered the following day at Duduza Dam in Nigel, with his car keys and driver’s licence still in his pocket. His death certificate records blunt-force trauma to the head as the cause of death.
The circumstances surrounding his death emerged publicly during testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where former EMPD officer Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D, alleged that Mbense was tortured and killed by law-enforcement officers and private security personnel before his body was dumped in the dam.
Accused handed herself over after returning from Dubai
During the reading of Eksteen’s affidavit, the court heard that she handed herself over at the Brakpan Police Station on August 13. She was subsequently arrested and taken to court.
The former police officer returned to South Africa from Dubai on August 10, where she had found temporary employment providing personal security services.
Her employment with the SAPS was terminated following the allegations against her. Disciplinary proceedings were instituted against her in March and she was dismissed in April.
Charges and investigation details
The accused face charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating or obstructing the ends or administration of justice.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate concluded its investigation into Mbense’s murder earlier this year and handed the case docket to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision on prosecution.
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