The alleged shooter of Witness D has been identified as a former member of the elite SAPS task force and his marksmanship is believed to have linked him to the murder.

The suspect was arrested on Saturday by the task team investigating allegations that have emerged at the Madlanga commission. It’s the team’s first arrest linked to the inquiry.

The suspect is expected to appear before the Brakpan magistrate’s court on Monday. Police previously reported that they had found two cartridges at the crime scene where Marius van der Merwe, popular known as Witness D was shot dead in December. According to a source involved in the case, the suspect was linked through ballistic and car registration details.
“The car [Suziki] registration helped to identify the suspect and the suspect is a former SAPS task force member and police believe that is the reason he was accurate,” said the source, adding that the second suspect is also known and their arrest is imminent. Police have since seized the vehicle.

The second suspect is believed to be a police reservist, according to the Sowetan’s source. During a media briefing in Tshwane on Sunday, police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola indicated another suspect was still being sought.
“The investigation is continuing. One will not at this stage be able to say if there will be more arrests but I am aware of the suspect. We are still hunting them and the investigation will as time goes on indicate what more is there,” he said.
When asked about the motive for Witness D’s murder, Masemola said: “To say it’s linked to the evidence [at Madlanga] is quite difficult. I can really say that the investigator will be able to allude to that in court on what exactly is the motive. All I know is that they were both involved in the commission of crimes. For now, the person we have arrested is for the killing of Witness D.”

Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels welcomed the arrest of the suspect. “The commission urges the relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure justice for the families of all those affected by people who are attempting to resist accountability for their alleged acts of criminality,” he said.

Security strategist and retired Interpol ambassador Andy Mashaile told Sowetan that if the arrest is directly related to Witness D’s evidence before the commission then it means the task team has added value to the commission’s work.
“Ordinary citizens should rejoice in this arrest because it is the first arrest as a result of the establishment of the commission,” he said.

He hoped it would lead to more arrests and that the public would have confidence in the commission.
“Remember, the social mood from social media, the comments speak to the issue of the arrest of people like Morgan Maumela, Gen Shadrack Sibiya, Gen Richard Maumela and all others. Whilse the mood is for them to be arrested, I am assuming that they are innocent until proven guilty.”

Mashaile is hopeful that the court process and trial will reveal the motive for the killing of Witness D, who was involved and who the mastermind was.

Witness D previously testified at the commission in camera. In his evidence he implicated suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi in a cover-up of the murder of Emmanuel Mbhense.

He said that after members of the SAPS and EMPD tortured Mbhense to death during an interrogation Mkhwanazi was called and instructed them to dump the body in a mine shaft or river. He said because of the way Mkhwanazi looked at him, he understood that the instruction was intended for him and he obeyed used his vehicle to dump the body in a river.

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