{
  "id": 3191152,
  "title": "Julius Mkhwanazi and co-accused to appear in court over R14.9 million precious-stones theft",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/julius-mkhwanazi-and-co-accused-to-appear-in-court-over-r14-9-million",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-25T05:10:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/2026-08-25-julius-mkhwanazi-and-co-accused-to-appear-in-court-over-r149-million-precious-stones-theft/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi and his former romantic partner, an inspector in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department's VIP Protection Unit, are set to appear in Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday. They are being charged with the alleged theft of precious stones worth R14.9 million. The case stems from an intelligence-led operation led by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). Mkhwanazi, who faces charges linked to the theft, claimed that his former partner orchestrated the February 11, 2023, Killarney robbery, alleging that they stole high-grade sugilite and manganese stones and each received R110,000. However, Mkhwanazi has denied these allegations. The State withdrew charges against businessman Etienne van der Walt, who was also part of the operation. Mkhwanazi and his partner were granted bail in the amount of R5,000 each after being arrested.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}