A candlelight vigil drew a crowd of more than 200 people as family, friends and community members gathered this evening in honour of slain Brenthurst resident Marius van der Merwe.

The vigil was held at the Anzac traffic circle, near the site of the now demolished Plastic City informal settlement.

Van der Merwe, or ‘Vlam’ as he was known, played a vital role in the operation to clear out the settlement and clean up the area.

He was also actively involved in the fight against illegal mining.

At the traffic circle, a memorial cross dedicated to Van der Merwe has been erected. It bears the inscription “In memory of Vlam. Thank you for serving Brakpan – we salute you! Fallen Heroes have the loudest voices”.

Photos of Van der Merwe and flower tributes were placed around the cross. The mood was sombre. While sobs could be heard, others stood quietly with candles softly talking to each other.

Candles were then placed near the cross. People in the crowd described Van der Merwe as a legend and a superhero.

Drummond Doig, vice-chairperson of AfriForum Brakpan and a friend of Van der Merwe’s, addressed the gathering and noted that the community shared a deep sense of loss.

“Everybody is feeling the same, shock. Everybody is angry, hurt, and everybody feels despondent. This shouldn’t happen, but it did,” he said.

“It takes a special kind of bravery for a man to know he’s going to be taken out, cause Vlam knew it. He still had the guts to carry on.”

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