IPID ADMITS TO FAMILY OF SLAIN BRAKPAN MAN THAT IT’S AFRAID TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED DIRTY COPS

Emmanuel Mbense who was allegedly killed under mysterious circumstances

By Barry Bateman
Communications Manager: Private Prosecution Unit AfriForum

In a shocking admission of its inability to deal with organised crime and violent criminals, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) reportedly told the family of Emmanuel Mbense (52) that alleged threats to investigators’ lives were one of the reasons for the nearly four-year delay in prosecuting the case.

Mbense was tortured to death on 15 April 2022 in Brakpan, allegedly at the hands of South African Police Service (SAPS) and Ekurhuleni Metro Police officers, as well as private security officers.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit represents Mbense’s family.

The details of the murder emerged last year during the testimony of Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D, at the Madlanga Commission of Enquiry.

Van der Merwe, who was a private security officer, was murdered on 5 December 2025.

Mbense’s family consulted with the unit on 18 November 2025, four days after Van der Merwe discussed the painful details of the torture and murder.

Van der Merwe admitted to participating in the torture, pinning Mbense down with a broken table leg and questioning him while another police officer suffocated him.

Van der Merwe claims he was instructed by those involved in the murder to dump the victim’s body in a dam.

After the unit wrote to IPID in December, an investigator met with the family, unbeknown to the unit, where the same promises made for more than three years were repeated – that the case was at an advanced stage and arrests were imminent.

The family says the investigator explained that they feared for their lives and needed security teams in order to perform their duties.

“Must we accept that IPID is incapable of investigating and arresting ‘dangerous’ criminals?” asked Adv.

Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, in the recent letter to IPID.

Nel adds that if the evidence presented at the Madlanga commission is correct, “IPID was faced with a possible s204 witness fearing for his life, IPID investigators receiving death threats, and one of the murder suspects himself being murdered.

Still, they failed to act decisively against the known suspects.

After nearly three years of knowing this, no suspects have been arrested, and another suspect, possibly a s204 witness, has been murdered.”

The unit will consider charges of defeating the ends of justice when the real reasons for the delay eventually come to light.

In a disturbing development, the unit has seen a video that appears to show a further incident of torture, or “tubing,” this time of a woman.

It is unclear when the video was made, but if it was made after Mbense’s murder, IPID’s failure to act may have put more people at risk of torture and death. The unit addressed this aspect in the recent correspondence.

Barry Bateman, the unit’s spokesperson, says if investigators are paralysed by threats of violence, they have effectively abandoned the state’s duty to investigate without fear, rendering criminals untouchable.

“It is precisely because they are violent that they should be arrested immediately and brought before the courts, where allegations of threats to investigators can be presented and tested, and the suspects held in custody until the trial is completed, if necessary.

It is disgraceful that an investigator would inform the family of a murder victim that the suspected killers are free because they are too afraid to investigate the case.

“The unit is also concerned about the impact Van der Merwe’s murder will have on the chances of a successful prosecution and has once again asked IPID to provide Mbense’s family with a meaningful update on the status of the case and to stop making empty promises that cause them additional distress,” says Bateman.

Copy of letter to IPID:

Letter_to_IPID_Brakpan_22_January_2026_{CAS_429-04-22}_Redacted