๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ช๐ฆ
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ป โ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐โ ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น
The high-profile murder trial of former police Special Task Force member Matipandile Sotheni has taken a critical turn after it emerged in court that forensic investigators have finalized downloading data from a contraband cellphone linked to the accused.
Sotheni, 42, appeared before the Brakpan Magistrateโs Court on Wednesday.
He faces 16 criminal counts, including premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and three counts of attempted murder.
The charges stem from the brutal December 2025 assassination of whistleblower Marius van der Merwe, widely known as โWitness Dโ at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
During the latest courtroom proceedings, the state provided a crucial update regarding its forensic cyber investigations.
Authorities revealed that tracker analysis and the extraction of internal cellphone data have been successfully completed.
The prosecution is now finalizing the mapping and plotting of the data, which is expected to uncover specific individuals the accused was allegedly communicating with from behind bars.
Van der Merwe was gunned down outside his Brakpan home in front of his wife and children shortly after blowing the lid on high-level corruption within local law enforcement units.
The hit sent shockwaves across South Africa, drawing strong condemnation from The Presidency.
The state plans to use the extracted mobile data and cell tower mapping as core technical evidence.
Once the plotting phase is fully finalized, prosecutors intend to officially transfer the case to the High Court for trial.
Sotheni, who has previously denied the allegations, remains remanded in custody after being denied bail earlier this year.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ, ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ป๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐.