Three suspects identified as the pursuit for Marius van der Merwe's killers heats up
The Madlanga Commission witness gunned down in Brakpan has been identified as Marius 'Vlam' van der Merwe
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers/IOL Graphics
Following the murder of Witness D at the Madlanga Commission, Marius van der Merwe, on Friday, police have confirmed that three people of interest have been identified and one has been brought in for questioning.
National Police Commissioner Gen. Fannie Masemola told the media after a walkabout in Saulsville on Monday that the investigation team is optimistic that a breakthrough in the case will occur soon.
Affectionately known as “Vlam”, van der Merwe, was gunned down in a hit in Brakpan in full view of his wife and children.
Three weeks ago, van der Merwe implicated Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi in wrongdoing, claiming that Mkhwanazi ordered him to cover up a murder of a suspect at the hands of EMPD and SAPS officers.
CCTV footage that has since emerged from Friday night's shooting shows van der Merwe talking to the men believed to be behind the assassination.
The suspects fled in a white Nissan NP200 bakkie with a canopy.
"We are confident that soon we will register a breakthrough as police remain on high alert for those behind the killing of Mr van der Merwe. Safe to say, investigations are on the right track.
"The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure NATJOINTS together with the Madlanga Commission has met and developed a plan to heighten and enhance security around officials and witnesses linked to the commission," Masemola said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Dr Johandri Wright, a researcher at the Dullah Omar Institute, said even if Van der Merwe declined witness protection, the state had a duty to protect him. Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika sad: ''“Perhaps it is important to distinguish whistleblower protection and witness protection, because the law does not treat them the same. Whistleblowers are essentially those who make disclosures in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act and the protection afforded under this Act is limited to occupational detriment and other labour-related matters.
''“To be protected as a witness, you have to give evidence in front of some form of proceedings such as the commission or courts. Then you will be entitled to apply for witness protection under the Witness Protection Act. Not all whistleblowers will necessarily enjoy the protection under the Witness Protection Act.”
Wright said Van der Merwe should have been protected by the police.
“You get protection under both Acts but you still need to apply under the Witness Protection Act to be entered into the witness protection programme which gives you essentially a range of protection measures and your physical safety. Van der Merwe, as I understood, refused to enter the witness protection programme and this did not actually absolve the state from its constitutional duty to still provide him with protection," she said.
She said there were “a range of different things” the state could have done to protect Van der Merwe.
“For example, I say this with great caution, having police uniforms outside his house, acting as security personnel. That being said, witness protection efforts can only be effective as the institutions administering it. We have seen now that our main institution responsible for protecting people, SAPS, might not be as strong as we would hope this institution to be.
“This means the protection that we can practically give these people is quite limited,” she told the channel.
Also known as “the man with the bakkie”, Van der Merwe told the commission in November that suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) acting chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi had allegedly instructed him to dispose of the body of a suspect killed by EMPD officers in an attempted cover-up.
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