Julius Mkhwanazi, the suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief, was was apprehended by the SAPS Madlanga Commission Task Team on charges of fraud, corruption, and defeating or obstructing the ends of justice. The charges emanate from an ongoing investigation into corruption within the EMPD. The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry heard evidence of an alleged rogue operation by EMPD officers, in which lithium-bearing rocks worth about R14 million were confiscated from a Rosebank residence and later went missing while in police custody. Mkhwanazi denies being involved in the operation, which is alleged to have been carried out by EMPD officers acting outside their jurisdiction. Mkhwanazi has also been implicated in the death of Emmanuel Mbese in 2022, where he is accused of instructing that Mbese’s body be dumped in a river to conceal the alleged involvement of EMPD officers. He is further accused of leading a SWAT team within the EMPD that was allegedly involved in hijackings, kidnappings, extortion, theft, and corruption.