By Johnathan Paoli
In a tense and deeply unsettling appearance before the Madlanga Commission on Friday, a protected witness identified only as Witness D delivered explosive testimony that strengthened earlier allegations of torture, murder, and organised criminality involving members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
The witness, a private-security operator whose identity and appearance were concealed, said what he saw still kept him up at night.
“I knew if I didn’t speak now, the truth would die with that man,” he testified.
The first and most disturbing revelation centred on a suspect who was allegedly tortured and suffocated during a joint operation on 15 April 2022.
Witness D recounted in chilling detail how officers dragged the man into a room, placed a plastic bag over his head, and used water in an apparent “tubing” method meant to induce asphyxiation.
According to him, the victim pleaded for his life, at one point offering a R500,000 bribe in desperation, but the assault escalated rapidly.
The witness said it became clear the man would not leave the room alive, describing the scene as a coordinated act of torture, not an interrogation.
The second major revelation was the alleged effort to conceal the killing.
Witness D testified that suspended EMPD acting chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi arrived at the scene after the torture had unfolded.
He alleged that Mkhwanazi instructed those present to dispose of the body, allegedly telling them to “dump the body in a dam” to ensure it could not be traced.
The witness said he was immediately warned not to report the matter and that officers on site made clear that powerful people would take care of any fallout.
He explained that he later attempted to report the incident to the Hawks and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), but that he was told the group involved was extremely dangerous and that he should let it go if you want to live.
A third revelation pushed the inquiry beyond a single act of brutality and into a darker picture of organised extortion and criminal networks operating within and around the police service.
Witness D testified that after the suspect was detained, officers found various materials linked to other crimes, including case dockets, ammunition and forensic items.
Instead of formally booking these, he said the discovery intensified the chaos, prompting officers to refer to unnamed senior crime-intelligence figures who could allegedly “fix everything”.
According to him, the suspect’s offer of a bribe did not de-escalate the situation but instead triggered comments that suggested the involvement of individuals occupying senior policing and intelligence positions.
These remarks, he argued, showed there was coordination and protection at a much higher level than the officers present.
Evidence leader Ofentse Motlhasedi noted that Witness D’s testimony is central to an IPID-related stream already flagged earlier in the commission’s proceedings.
For the public, Witness D’s harrowing testimony has added a new layer to the inquiry and heightened pressure on law-enforcement structures to confront allegations of entrenched corruption and impunity.
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