McLean said Van der Merwe's eight-year-old son could not be consoled as he knelt beside his father’s body, crying.
Marius van der Merwe struggled to open the front gate when he and his family pulled up to their home just after 8pm on Friday night. Moments later, gunfire pierced the air, followed by screams.
Van der Merwe was shot dead in front of his family in an apparent hit at the family’s Brakpan, Gauteng, home. It was the second attempt on his life in two weeks. This time, shots to his head and leg had dealt the final blow, one he told friends and family he knew was coming.
The alleged hitmen sped off, leaving Van der Merwe’s wife and children unharmed.
Followed
The Citizen reported that two weeks ago a car had followed Van der Merwe and then tried to ram him off the road. A gunfight ensued.
He was reportedly followed again on Friday night, this time from a bridge along a main road he and his family were taking on the way home from dinner at a local restaurant and onto their street. It slowed down as they approached their house. It appeared to drive past nonchalantly as Van der Merwe attempted to open the gate, before the hitmen opened fire.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Van der Merwe’s mother-in-law, Lesley McLean, remembered the sound of gunshots and her husband telling her to get down.
Those orders of caution were followed by desperate cries as they ran to investigate.
“We ran outside because [Van der Merwe’s wife] Lee-Anne was shouting, ‘Daddy, daddy, Marius has been shot.’ As we approached the gate, she screamed, saying Marius is dead.”
McLean said Van der Merwe’s eight-year-old son could not be consoled as he knelt beside his father’s body, crying.
His wife, still coming to terms with losing the love of her life, simply penned the note: “I have lost the love of my life. My children have lost their father. And the country has lost a hero.”
ALSO READ: Not the first time hitmen tried to kill Madlanga Commission witness Marius van der Merwe
Other witnesses go to ground
The former Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officer and private security firm owner had recently testified at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into police corruption and criminal collusion. There, he implicated suspended EMPD top cop Julius Mkhwanazi in criminal activity.
He told the commission that Mkhwanazi had ordered him to dispose of the body of a suspect who died in police custody in 2022. Fearing for his life, he said he complied with the order and dumped the body in a dam.
While police have not confirmed whether the alleged hit was related to his testimony at the commission, The Citizen understands the murder has already shocked others into pulling out of proceedings.
Sources told The Citizen that Van der Merwe was not given protection, but Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi said it was offered but declined by him.
Insiders added that several people who were set to testify have not been given protection and have already received threats.
One witness claimed their home had been broken into recently, just days after they found their alarm system had been tampered with.
The witness has also apparently been followed and has hired private security to protect themselves and their family.
Another said they had incriminating evidence that they wanted to present to the commission, but feared they would be next on the hit list.
ALSO READ: Justice at gunpoint: the growing hit list of whistle-blowers in SA
Commission’s response
The death has thrown the commission into disarray and drawn widespread criticism of the government’s protection of witnesses testifying at the commission.
The commission said on Saturday evening that it had met police, military, state security and justice ministry officials to discuss the safety and security of witnesses and officials.
“The meeting, held in Pretoria at the NATJOINTS Operations Centre, agreed to enhance the commission’s security operational plan over the next two days.
“While extensive measures have been put in place to secure witnesses and officials since the start of the commission, the meeting identified a need to heighten these measures by roping in the NATJOINTS and all other relevant roleplayers.”
Natjoints is among the most senior security cross-department organisational teams in the country and recently oversaw the safety of international heads of state at the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg.
Justice minister plays the blame game
President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that testimony at the commission had “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”.
He said that the government would respond by “redoubling” efforts to protect whistleblowers, including witnesses before the Madlanga Commission.
However, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi defended the government’s protection witness programme and the Madlanga Commission’s security.
“I don’t think that they [the commission] have been negligent. They have done everything in their power to protect.”
She claimed that she, her department, and even some commissioners did not know the identity of witness D, but the media and some members of the public did. She said this was a concern.
However, those in the security industry rubbished this, claiming the commission’s attempts to hide his identity were flimsy, and it was immediately obvious who he was once he started testifying.
Kubayi acknowledged that she feared for witnesses before bizarrely slamming the media for its coverage of the commission and Van der Merwe’s death.
She suggested that testimonies be given behind closed doors. This was previously challenged by media houses amid concerns of public interest, transparency, and accountability.
“I want to say to the nation that we are in agreement that there is a need for us to review how the witnesses are testifying at the Madlanga Commission following this incident, and also ensure the work is not compromised.
“We must recognise, all of us patriotic South Africans, that public interest information cannot supersede or be above the right to life.”
She later slammed the public for revealing Van der Merwe’s identity via social media and stoking suspicions.
Avoiding justice
Forensic investigator Chad Thomas of IRS Forensic Investigations told The Citizen earlier this year that assassinations, intimidation, and threats are becoming a cheap way to avoid justice.
Criminals are using hired heavies to collect debt or settle disputes through violence instead of the courts.
Thomas said this is becoming more common, and some have turned deadly.
“People no longer want to litigate using civil processes allowed under the law. Instead, they want to settle disputes with threats and through death
“More recently, Bouwer van Niekerk was assassinated. Before him, Cloete and Thomas Murray and Babita Deokaran were assassinated. Many more have been killed simply for doing their jobs or knowing too much.”
Additional reporting by Hein Kaiser
