CCTV reveals final moments of courageous whistle-blower shot in front of his family

Marius van der Merwe, "Witness D" at the Madlanga Commission, was shot and killed this past weekend outside his Brakpan home. CCTV footage shows him attempting to draw his own weapon and conversing with his assailants.

On Friday, he was shot several times in front of his family outside their Brakpan residence.

Van der Merwe gave testimony before the commission about the torture and interrogation of a Mozambican suspect at an unofficial site in Brakpan.

He alleged that a group of EMPD officers with private security had been involved in the death of the man using methods, including tubing, regarded as torture and Van der Merwe said he was forced to dump the body into a dam.

President Cyril Ramaphosa led the tributes, calling on law enforcement agencies to establish the circumstances 'leading to his heinous act'.

"I am appalled and saddened by this attack on a former public servant who recently served the cause of justice and integrity by testifying at the Madlanga Commission,” Ramaphosa said.

“My thoughts are with the deeply traumatised family who came under attack last night. They faced death in circumstances that suggest Van der Merwe’s brave testimony angered elements in our society who want to undermine the rule of law and set back the quest for truth and consequences in the fight against corruption."

“The Commission has noted with profound sadness the brutal killing of one of its witnesses, Mr Marius van der Merwe. (He contributed) towards uncovering serious allegations of criminality and corruption in the EMPD,” its spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said in a statement.

The police have activated a NATJOINTS structure, the highest security structuring, including officers and intelligence at the most senior levels, to investigate Van der Merwe’s murder. He was a Brakpan-based security industry member and former Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) official.

On Sunday,  (EMPD) Superintendent Jacques Vorster said his good friend died with a lighter heart because he felt guilty about his role in dumping the body of a suspect in a dam, and he wanted to get it off his chest.

Vorster, broke down in tears speaking about Van der Merwe’s assassination.

He said his friend always felt guilty about the suspect’s death and his role in disposing of the body, and he was keen to get it off his chest before the Madlanga Commission. In fact, Vorster said, shortly after he was ordered to dispose of a body in Spaarwater Dam, he told Ipid as well as the police about what happened but not much came of this.

Vorster and Van der Merwe knew each other for several months as they worked together to chase the Zama Zamas from Plastic City, an unregistered squatter camp in Brakpan. Vorster said he and Van der Merwe, the owner of a security company, worked day and night together to get rid of the illegal miners. They met through work and became close friends, an emotional Voster said. "We were relatively tight, and he did not have a scared bone in his body.”

According to Vorster, Van der Merwe did speak to him about giving evidence before the Madlanga Commission, but he only told his friend what needed to be said. “He took things as they came. He knew his life was in danger, but Marius was a courageous person. He was also a person who knew what is right and what is wrong. And he knew it was right to confess all before the Commission, and he dearly wanted to do this".

Vorster said that from the day he was forced to dump the body of a Mozambican citizen into the dam, his friend played open cards about his involvement.

“It had bothered him, and he had sleepless nights about his involvement. He felt guilty that he could not do more to save the man’s life. But he was not in a position to do anything, else he would have also ended in the dam".

Van der Merwe told him that he had participated under duress, but he had to do it as he had no choice. “But he got it off his chest before the Commission, in which he dearly believed. He believed that now, after all these years, eventually something will be done.”

Van der Merwe knew his life could be at stake. Although he testified under the name of Witness D, there were so many people involved, and they could also identify his voice. “He knew it was his duty because what had happened was against his religious beliefs. Unfortunately, it did not end well for him, but he felt better for it.”

He suspected that Van der Merwe knew that something would happen to him. There are also suspicions that he knew his attackers as CCTV footage showed him talking to people outside his home seconds before he was killed. “It can be seen that he reached for his gun, but it was too late.”

Speaking about his friend’s death, Vorster said it is like losing a brother. “I am broken".  He did not want to divulge much about Van der Merwe’s family, other than to say that they are struggling to cope with his death. His wife has always been behind him divulging the full truth and she knew he was living on the edge. They have two small sons.

 “None of us saw this coming. We thought now that he had concluded his evidence before the Commission, he was no longer in direct danger and that the next step would be to testify later in court.”

"Those involved know who they are, and they know they will be going to hell. He will be deeply missed. He was such a good person who did a lot of good deeds for the community". 

Vorster concluded that he spoke to his friend a few days before his death, as they were discussing another Zama Zama operation.

“Now this will never happen". 

zelda.venter@inl.co.za