Adrian Norman Mackenzie and Etienne van der Walt
Image: ITUMELENG ENGLISH
A metro police officer and a security boss accused of staging a fake police raid to rob a man of precious stones worth R14.9m appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.
NPA spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department official Adrian Norman Mackenzie and Etienne van der Walt faced charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud.
The pair allegedly robbed the complainant of six boxes containing high-grade sugilite and manganese stones at premises in Killarney, Johannesburg, on February 11 2023.
"It is alleged that the accused assaulted the complainant and, while armed with firearms, threatened to inflict grievous bodily harm before taking possession of the precious stones," Mohlatlole said.
"The state alleges that Mackenzie, together with another EMPD official and their civilian co-accused, falsely represented themselves as members of a multi-disciplinary law enforcement team comprising EMPD and directorate for priority crime investigation officers investigating alleged lithium smuggling activities."
The men also allegedly misrepresented that they were authorised to conduct law enforcement operations in the Johannesburg area.
"These representations were false and were intended to induce the complainant into believing that a legitimate law enforcement operation was being conducted," Mohlatlole said.
"The state alleges that the true purpose of the operation was to unlawfully deprive the complainant of the precious stones."
Mohlatlole said the EMPD officials had been operating outside their lawful jurisdiction, which is limited to the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality.
The matter was postponed to July 16 for formal bail applications.
Both accused remained in custody.
The 2023 Killarney robbery has featured prominently at the Madlanga Commission.
The commission has heard evidence linking the robbery to suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and a so-called rogue unit of officers under his command.
In June, a former EMPD inspector and Mkhwanazi's ex-girlfriend, testifying behind a hidden camera as Witness K, told the commission how Mkhwanazi and officers under his command allegedly stole the stones from a Killarney apartment under the guise of a police operation.
CCTV footage presented to the commission reportedly placed several of Mkhwanazi's senior subordinates at the scene alongside private security personnel.
Mkhwanazi, who testified before the commission over several months, denied ordering the robbery and rejected claims that he used officers under his command to run illegal operations.
The commission has also heard allegations that Mkhwanazi's unit was involved in kidnappings, extortion, copper theft in Meyerton and the fitting of blue lights to vehicles linked to alleged crime boss Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala.
Mkhwanazi was suspended by the city of Ekurhuleni in 2025 and was arrested in April this year on charges of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
He was later released on bail.
IOL News