Suspect to appear in court on Monday for Witness D murder
A specialised task team investigating cases linked to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry made its first major breakthrough with the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Marius van der Merwe, known as Witness D, in Johannesburg.
One suspect linked to the murder of Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D, will appear in court on Monday following his arrest in Johannesburg.
The arrest was made by a task team established to investigate cases arising from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
The team was formed by National Commissioner of the South African Police Service Fannie Masemola, on instruction from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Van der Merwe was gunned down in December outside his home in Brakpan, shortly after testifying at the Madlanga Commission against senior officials from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.
He had earlier told the commission that a robbery suspect was tortured and killed during a police operation.
He also implicated suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi, who attempted to cover it up, placing his life at risk.
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National Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the suspect is expected to appear in the Brakpan Magistrate's Court.
“After obtaining overwhelming evidence, the team obtained a J 50 warrant of arrest this week and made their first arrest. The team is still on the ground, where they're busy with a search-and-seizure operation at various addresses identified as belonging to the suspect. The vehicle believed to have been used on the day that witness D was murdered has also been seized.”
After Witness D was shot and killed, Mathe said Van Der Merwe's wife was inside the car when gunmen attacked him, and she escaped unharmed.
She revealed that an AK-47 automatic rifle was used in the commission of the crime, prompting the police to open a case of murder and launch a manhunt for the perpetrator of the murder and the hitmen who shot and killed Witness D.
Witness D murder whistleblower reaction
His murder also sparked reaction from whistleblowers and crime victims who said the justice system continues to fail them.
Mike Bolhuis, a specialist investigator from Specialised Security Services, feels the system is failing those who expose corruption and violent crime.
"The only way to fix it properly is to make sure that any information that is of such value that a person giving that information's life is in danger or their family, must be kept extremely private and confidential.
“If the information is such that they would know for a fact that this person could be killed or others because of this information, like in this case."
Bolhuis adds that witness confidentiality needs to be enforced.
