Mapaballo Borotho
- Witness D, who testified against senior EMPD officials at the Madlanga Commission, was gunned down outside his home with an AK-47.
- Police have launched a manhunt after confirming nothing was stolen and the killing was a targeted hit.
- The incident has sparked urgent security reviews for all commission witnesses and officials.
Witness D, who recently testified before the Madlanga Commission, was shot dead outside his family home on Friday evening.
Private security company Vision Tactical confirmed that Marius van der Merwe, a former EMPD member and owner of the QRF Task Team, was the witness killed.
Following his death, the National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, is set to meet and brief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on the investigation into the tragic murder.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says Masemola will also use the opportunity to discuss improving safety and security measures for all role-players at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
“At the crime scene outside the home of Witness D, various units of the SAPS including ballistics, crime scene experts, crime intelligence officers and members of the serious and violent crime unit worked until the early hours of this morning, combing the scene for available material evidence. Police can thus confirm that evidence gathered at the scene confirms an AK-47 automatic rifle was used in the commission of the crime,” said Mathe.
According to the preliminary investigation, Witness D arrived home just after 20:30 with his wife and, as he was about to open the gate, he was shot and sustained wounds to his upper body. He was declared dead at the scene.
His wife, who was in the passenger seat, escaped unharmed. Nothing was taken from him;, his firearm, cellphone and wallet were still in his possession.
A case of murder has been registered and police have launched a manhunt for both the hit orderer and the hitmen who killed Witness D.
Police are also searching for the murder weapon.
General Masemola has ordered NATJOINTS Co-chair Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili to urgently convene a NATJOINTS meeting over the weekend to discuss improving the safety and security of commission officials and witnesses.
Three weeks ago, Witness D implicated suspended EMPD Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi in wrongdoing, claiming Mkhwanazi ordered him to cover up the murder of a suspect tortured by EMPD and SAPS officers.
His testimony was not on camera.
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