By Mapaballo Borotho
- Police have arrested a suspect believed to be the shooter in the murder of Madlanga Commission Witness D, Marius van der Merwe.
- The arrest was made by the TASK team tasked with investigating cases linked to the commission, marking its first breakthrough.
- Van der Merwe was assassinated outside his Brakpan home weeks after implicating senior Ekurhuleni Metro Police officials in a 2022 murder.
One suspect has been arrested for the brutal murder of Madlanga Commission’s Witness D, Marius van der Merwe.
The TASK team, launched to investigate cases arising from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, arrested the suspect on Saturday, marking its first breakthrough.
The arrested suspect is believed to be the shooter in the case that left the country in shock last year.
The team, which was established by General Fannie Masemola on instruction by the President, took over the investigations shortly after they were appointed.
National Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the vehicle believed to have been used on the day that Witness D was murdered has also been seized.
“After obtaining overwhelming evidence, the team obtained a J50 warrant of arrest this week and made their first arrest on Saturday, 14 March 2026.
The team is still on the ground where they are busy with a search and seizure operation at various identified addresses of the suspect.
He is expected to make his first appearance before the Brakpan Magistrates Court on Monday, 16 March 2026.”
Van der Merwe was assassinated outside his home in Brakpan on Saturday, 6 December, in full view of his wife and children.
His killing came just three weeks after he gave chilling testimony at the Madlanga Commission, implicating senior Ekurhuleni Metro Police officials in a 2022 murder.
Witness D had told the commission that suspended EMPD chief Julius Mkhwanazi ordered him to dispose of a lifeless body that had allegedly been tortured by police.
He was instructed to dump it in a dam or mine shaft, eventually abandoning the body in a dam in Nigel.
READ NEXT: Breakthrough as police find a car allegedly used in Witness D’s murder