Wiandre Pretorius, a 41-year-old man linked by police to the murder of Marius van der Merwe known in court proceedings as Witness D has died in Brakpan after reportedly taking his own life, law enforcement confirmed.
Pretorius had been a prime suspect in the high-profile “Witness D” murder investigation, in which van der Merwe was fatally shot last December shortly after giving evidence at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
In sworn testimony, van der Merwe identified Pretorius as involved in the torture and killing of Emmanuel Mbense in 2022.
Earlier this week, Pretorius survived a suspected assassination attempt when assailants fired at his vehicle outside his home in Boksburg; police found the bakkie riddled with bullets and opened an attempted murder case.
On Saturday evening, national police said an inquest docket has been registered after Pretorius allegedly fatally shot himself at a petrol filling station in Brakpan.
Pretorius’s death adds to a troubling pattern of violence surrounding individuals linked to the Madlanga Commission’s work.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
