Police probing possible syndicate seeking to silence Madlanga witnesses
Police are investigating a possible syndicate seeking to silence witnesses at the Madlanga Commission into corruption in the criminal justice system.
This follows an attempted hit on Wiandré Pretorius in Boksburg on Thursday.
His bakkie was shot at 16 times as he was driving into residence on Klapper Street,
Pretorius was implicated in the testimony of slain Marius van der Merwe at the Madlanga Commission.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni says they are willing to provide witness protection for any witness appearing before the commission:
“As the South African Police Service, where we're investigating the case, and it is clear that there is a need for a witness to go through a witness protection, we will of course do the necessary, linking up with the NPA. From there, the NPA will take the process forward.”
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Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is appalled by the attempted hit on Pretorius.
Briefing the media in Pretoria, President Ramaphosa said there is a need to tighten security for the commission's officials and witnesses.
"We are terribly appalled by attempts being made by those who have been doing wrong things against witnesses. We want to tighten security much more so that witnesses who are giving evidence online are not easily identified.
"This is completely unacceptable, and this is the reason why we set up the Madlanga Commission: so that we can get to the heart of all the shenanigans that are happening,” he added.
Van der Merwe implicated Pretorius when he testified about the death of an Ekurhuleni man, Emmanuel Mbhense, whose body was found dumped at a dam in Germiston, allegedly at the instruction of Ekurhuleni metro police officers.
Mbhense was allegedly tortured and murdered by members of EMPD in April 2022.
