Family of slain Witness D wants mastermind behind bars

Image credit: FacebookThe family of slain Witness D, Marius van der Merwe, says it wants those who orchestrated his killing to face the full might of the law.

The remarks follow the arrest of 41-year-old Matipandile Sotheni at the weekend by a specialised task team in connection with Van der Merwe’s murder.

Sotheni, who faces six charges, including premeditated murder, attempted murder relating to Van der Merwe’s wife and children, and conspiracy to commit murder, made his first appearance in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Relatives believe the order to kill Van der Merwe came from senior figures.

Van der Merwe was gunned down outside his Brakpan home, a few weeks after his damning testimony at the Madlanga commission in December last year.

Van der Merwe was gunned down outside his Brakpan home a few weeks after giving damning testimony before the Madlanga Commission in December last year.

He had testified on 14 November 2025 and was assassinated on 5 December 2025 after exposing alleged corruption and criminal activity within the  Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD).

National police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says Sotheni – a highly trained former SAPS member – is believed to have been the one who pulled the trigger.

Mathe says van der Merwe was killed in a drive-by shooting and died after being struck by a single bullet, suggesting the involvement of a skilled marksman.

She explained that Sotheni joined SAPS in 2005 and became part of the elite Special Task Force in 2010 before resigning in 2019 and entering the private security sector.

“So he resigned from the SAPS in 2019, and from our investigation he then went into the private sector. And it is quite unfortunate that our tactical operators are being targeted by your private companies, by individuals who are wealthy, to protect them and guard them. But now we see today they end up doing such heinous, being involved in such heinous crimes,” Mather added. 

Police believe the plan to eliminate van der Merwe came after he appeared before the Madanga Commission of Inquiry, where he implicated certain individuals in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense, who was tortured and drowned at a dam in Ekurhuleni.

“So they started tailing him at the end of November, and on the 5th of December, just after half past eight, they executed their plan. They eliminated him to silence him because our investigation tells us that he knew a lot,” Mathe said. “He had already deposed an affidavit before the Madlanga Commission that was implicating quite a few individuals.”

Shortly after his assassination, one of the individuals he implicated, Wiandre Pretorius, died by suicide at a filling station in Boksburg.

Wiandre was implicated by van der Merwe in the killing of Mbense in 2022.

Mathe say preliminary findings indicate that Pretorius was driving a Suzuki Swift allegedly used in the drive-by shooting, while Sotheni was a passenger.

“So our overwhelming evidence then places them both on the scene, and it also tells us that this particular Suzuki Swift was the one that was driven by Sotheni while he was tailing Witness D for quite some time, starting off from the end of November up until the time he was executed on the 5th of December. So the SAPS has been quite hard at work.

“The detectives have been on the ground and we unfortunately did find out that the Suzuki Swift actually belongs to the girlfriend of Sotheni.”

Mathe says further arrests in connection with the killing cannot be ruled out and investigators are also probing whether other individuals implicated at the Madlanga Commission could be on a possible hit list.

Sotheni is expected to return to court next Wednesday to apply for bail, which the State has indicated it will oppose.

Background:

Matipandile (or Matiphandile) Sotheniis a former member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) who became a public figure due to high-profile legal disputes and labor issues involving the elite Special Task Force (STF).

Key details regarding him include:
•SAPS… https://t.co/4OBYP4jD6t

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 16, 2026