Mapaballo Borotho
- NATJOINTS and the Madlanga Commission have agreed to strengthen security measures for witnesses following the assassination of witness D, Marius Van Der Merwe.
- The meeting identified an urgent need to reinforce safety plans while investigations into his murder continue.
- Van Der Merwe was killed weeks after testifying about an alleged police cover-up in a Brakpan murder case.
The NATJOINTS co-chairs, including the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force, met with officials of the Madlanga Commission following the brutal killing of Marius Van Der Merwe, who has been identified as witness D before the Commission.
Officials from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development also took part in the meeting to discuss the safety and security of witnesses and officials.
The meeting, held in Pretoria at the NATJOINTS Operations Centre, agreed to enhance the Commission’s security operational plan over the next two days.
National Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the meeting identified a need to heighten the security measures already in place to protect witnesses and officials.
“The meeting identified a need to heighten these measures by roping in the NATJOINTS and all other relevant role players. As investigations proceed into the murder of Mr Van Der Merwe, members of the public are urged not to speculate.
NATJOINTS and the Commission will brief members of the media in due course,” Mathe concluded.
Marius Van Der Merwe was killed in full view of his family as he was reportedly about to drive into his driveway on Friday evening.
His death comes just weeks after his chilling testimony at the Madlanga Commission, where he implicated EMPD’s Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in the Brakpan murder case.
He told the Commission that Julius Mkhwanazi ordered a cover-up, allegedly instructing officers to “dump the body in a dam or mine shaft.”
The witness said he was the one who transported the body and abandoned it at a dam in Nigel, fearing for his own safety.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said they are working around the clock to find those behind the killing of witness D and those who ordered the hit.
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