The wife of late police informant Wiandre Pretorius has been arrested as the sixth accused in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense. Jaun Maree Eksteen appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Pretorius, 41, died by suicide in February.
Eksteen joins suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi and four other accused. They are former EMPD officer Keisha-Leigh Stols, EMPD officer Adrian MacKenzie, South African Police Service officer Bhekokwakhe Sibande and civilian Cobus Janse van Rensburg.
The state has charged the six with Schedule 6 murder, meaning they must show exceptional circumstances to be granted bail. The matter was postponed last week following legal arguments over the state’s decision to classify the case under Schedule 6 and oppose bail.
Emmanuel Mbense Murder Case Linked To Madlanga Commission
The arrests followed an investigation into allegations that Mbense was tortured and killed at his Brakpan home in April 2022. His body was allegedly dumped in a dam in Duduza, near Nigel.
Mbense’s murder featured prominently before the Madlanga Commission, where evidence was presented about an alleged cover-up. Evidence heard by the commission implicated Mkhwanazi in the alleged cover-up.
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The late Marius van der Merwe, a security company owner who testified before the commission as Witness D, alleged that Mkhwanazi was called to the scene after Mbense was killed. Van der Merwe claimed that Mkhwanazi instructed people at the scene to dispose of Mbense’s body at either a mine dump or in a river.
Madlanga Commission Witness Marius Van Der Merwe Killed
Van der Merwe was shot dead outside his Brakpan home on 5 December 2025, weeks after giving evidence before the commission. During his testimony, he alleged that Mbense was tortured before being killed and said he was later instructed to dispose of the body.
His evidence helped Mbense’s family piece together what happened and provided information about aspects of the case that had remained unexplained for more than three years.
Pretorius, who was implicated in the Madlanga Commission, died by suicide on 7 February 2026 at a petrol station in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg. Days earlier, he had survived an apparent assassination attempt outside his home in Boksburg.
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Pretorius was the first person of interest questioned by SAPS following Van der Merwe’s murder.
The six accused are expected to argue why they should be released on bail despite the state’s Schedule 6 classification and opposition to their release. Their bail application is continuing.
