Illustrative image | Businessman Etienne van der Walt and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officer Adriaan Mackenzie appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 6 July, on charges of allegedly robbing a complainant of six boxes containing high-grade sugilite and manganese stones, valued at R14.9m. (Photo: Screenshots)
On Monday, 6 July 2026, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) official Adrian Norman Mackenzie and his co-accused, businessman Etienne van der Walt, briefly appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud.
The charges stem from an alleged rogue operation carried out in February 2023 at a property in Killarney, Johannesburg, outside the EMPD’s jurisdiction and within the policing area of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD).
Prosecutors allege the operation was carried out under the guise of a legitimate law enforcement raid despite EMPD officers having no authority to conduct such an operation in Johannesburg.
According to the State, the accused did not simply commit an armed robbery. Prosecutors allege they staged a bogus, multi-agency law enforcement operation, falsely presenting themselves as members of a joint task team investigating alleged lithium smuggling.
The prosecution contends that the operation was a calculated deception designed to convince the complainant that a lawful search and seizure was under way, when its true purpose was to unlawfully dispossess the owner of precious stones worth R14.9-million.
The allegations closely mirror testimony heard before the Madlanga Commission on 23 June, where Witness K, an inspector at the VIP unit at the JMPD, described the alleged planning and execution of the Killarney raid, implicating several law enforcement officials and civilians.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Lizzy Suping said the two accused form part of five suspects who are facing a charge of corruption due to their conduct in the alleged raid and theft of precious stones.
Suping said Ipid executed three arrest warrants over the weekend, but only Mackenzie and Van der Walt were apprehended. Investigators, assisted by the Tactical Response Team, are continuing the search for the remaining suspects.
Hours after the court proceedings on Monday, Suping confirmed that a third suspect in the alleged theft had handed herself over at the Edenvale Police Station. The suspect is expected to make her first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 July 2026.
Suping said that investigators were closing in on the remaining two suspects, whose arrests she described as imminent.
The State’s case
According to National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole, the accused, who were armed, allegedly assaulted the complainant and threatened to inflict grievous bodily harm before taking possession of six boxes containing high-grade sugilite and manganese stones.
“They allegedly further misrepresented that they were authorised to conduct law enforcement operations within the Johannesburg area,” Mohlatlole said.
According to the prosecution, the false representations were intended to induce the complainant into believing that a legitimate law enforcement operation was under way.
The State also alleges that the EMPD officials acted beyond the limits of their legal authority by conducting the operation in Johannesburg.
How Killarney raid was planned — Witness K
Witness K’s testimony offered what she described as an insider’s account of how the Killarney raid was planned.
She testified that she met now suspended EMPD deputy chief Mkhwanazi in 2022 and that their acquaintance developed into a romantic relationship. According to her evidence, Mkhwanazi frequently borrowed money from her until she had exhausted both her salary and her savings.
Unable to lend Mkhwanazi more money, Witness K testified that he asked her to “keep her ear to the ground” for opportunities involving large sums of money.
She said this had reminded her of information she had earlier received from an informer, named Jango Sermon, about illegal stones in possession of someone in a block of flats in Killarney.
Although she had never reported the information to her superior, she told the commission she passed it on to Mkhwanazi, who allegedly instructed her to contact the informer while he assembled a team to follow up the tip-off.
Witness K said Mkhwanazi became increasingly persistent about the tip-off.
“Sometime in January or February 2023, Mkhwanazi became very persistent about getting information on the stones and continuously followed up with me until I was able to get in touch with the informer,” her statement reads.
She testified that roles were then allocated. Her task was to liaise with the informer, verify the location of the stones and facilitate payment, while, she alleged, Mkhwanazi would organise the officers who would carry out the raid.
Day of the alleged raid
Witness K testified that on the morning of 11 February 2023, she met Mkhwanazi at a Nando’s in Meyersdal Square, where she was introduced to EMPD officers Keisha Leigh Stols and Mackenzie, as well as civilian co-accused Van der Walt. She alleged the intelligence about the precious stones had been discussed before the group dispersed.
“They went to Killarney to get the stones. I went home,” Witness K told the commission.
About an hour later, she said, Stols phoned to say they were inside the premises and handed the phone to the owner of the stones. Witness K said she asked whether he had the necessary permits, knowing from her earlier discussions with her informer that he did not.
According to Witness K, after the owner admitted that he did not have the required permits, Stols, Mackenzie and Van der Walt “then took the stones and left the apartment with the stones”.
Witness K further testified that she, Stols, Mackenzie and Van der Walt later met with the informer. Van der Walt negotiated a payment of R110,000 for the stones. She alleged that the proceeds were then divided among the group, with R22,000 going to her and the remaining R88,000 shared between Mkhwanazi, Stols, Mackenzie and Van der Walt.
Mackenzie and his co-accused, Van der Walt, remain in custody pending their formal bail application to be heard on 16 July 2026. DM