“They Were Coming For Him”: Wife Speaks Out After Madlanga Witness D Marius ‘Vlam’ van der Merwe Is Gunned Down

Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe, known publicly only as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission, feared his time was running out. After twice escaping assassination, the Brakpan security boss was shot dead in his driveway on Friday night—just two weeks after the most recent attempt on his life.

His grieving family said he had repeatedly warned them in recent weeks that someone intended to kill him.

“When we asked him to beef up his security, he said no amount of security would protect him,” his mother-in-law, Lesley McLean, said. “He knew they were coming for him. He had done what he needed to do when he testified during the commission. He was prepared to die, but as a family we were not prepared to lose him.”

Van der Merwe’s November testimony alleged that Ekurhuleni metro police (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi ordered him to dispose of a man’s body after officers fatally injured him during an interrogation involving “tubing.”

Witness Assassination Sparks National Outcry Over Safety Failures

Just after 8pm on Friday, Van der Merwe was opening his manual gate when attackers opened fire in full view of his wife, Lee-Anne, and their two children, aged eight and four.

Lesley described the chaos inside the house when shots rang out, “My husband was watching TV in the bedroom when the incident happened. I was in the kitchen. Everything happened so fast. In a few seconds, it was quiet.”

When they ran outside, Lee-Anne was shouting for help, “‘Daddy, daddy, Marius has been shot.’”

A devastated Lee-Anne later wrote, “I have lost the love of my life. My children have lost their father. And the country has lost a hero.”

Van der Merwe had also survived two attempts on his life earlier this year — the first at Plastic City informal settlement, and another just two weeks ago when a bullet intended for him ricocheted off a rock and grazed his forehead.

Neighbours and residents streamed to the family’s home on Saturday, laying flowers at the gate. Many described him as a hero who risked everything to speak out.

Ramaphosa Demands “Higher Level” Protection as State Faces Pressure

President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the killing, warning it would scare off future witnesses.

“It’s not acceptable that witnesses who are unravelling things and coming out with the truth … are now as they tell the truth getting killed themselves,” he said. “This is going to deter many other witnesses from coming forward.”

He instructed law enforcement to ensure “no stone is left unturned” and called for an urgent overhaul of witness protection. “The witness protection programme must now be taken to a higher level. And I want results out of this investigation as quickly as possible because we cannot allow this level of lawlessness, particularly [in] the security cluster, to continue.”

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi confirmed that Van der Merwe had declined an offer of protection. “He didn’t think that he needed it because he runs his own security company,” she said.

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Police confirmed an AK-47 was used in the attack. Nothing was stolen — his firearm, wallet and phone were left untouched.

DA’s MP Ian Cameron warned the killing threatened the integrity of the commission’s work.
“We cannot allow a climate in which witnesses fear that stepping forward may cost them their lives,” he said. “If individuals begin to doubt that the state can safeguard them, the entire chain of accountability is weakened.”

Crime expert Chad Thomas said South Africa’s witness protection failures were now “tragically obvious”, adding, “The current legislation … is not adequate for the sheer volume of people who now require safeguarding.”

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