The South African police have arrested a suspect in connection with the brazen murder of Marius van der Merwe, the man famously known as “Witness D.”
The suspect was apprehended in Johannesburg on Saturday, March 14, nearly four months after Van der Merwe was gunned down outside his home in Brakpan .
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the arrested individual is believed to be the shooter who killed Van der Merwe.
Investigators have also seized a vehicle that is suspected to have been used as a getaway car during the murder on December 5, 2025.
The suspect is expected to make his first court appearance in the Brakpan Magistrates’ Court on Monday .
The arrest was made by a specialized task team established by National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, following a direct instruction from President Cyril Ramaphosa to expedite investigations related to the commission.
General Masemola confirmed that the team gathered “overwhelming evidence” to obtain a J50 warrant of arrest, leading to the breakthrough. He also stated that the investigation is far from over, noting that more suspects have been identified in connection with the killing.
The investigation into Van der Merwe’s murder has been marked by intense scrutiny and further tragedy. Just last month, on February 7, 2026, Wiandre Pretorius, a 41-year-old former police reservist and prime person of interest in the case, died by suicide at a petrol station in Brakpan.
Police confirmed that Pretorius was the first individual taken in for questioning following Witness D’s murder. Authorities had seized his firearms and cellphones for forensic testing as part of their investigation . Pretorius’s death came just two days after he survived an alleged assassination attempt, during which gunmen fired 16 bullets into his vehicle outside his Boksburg home on February 5 .
Van der Merwe had directly implicated Pretorius during his testimony before the Madlanga Commission in November 2025. He alleged that Pretorius was involved in the brutal 2022 torture and murder of Emmanuel Mbhense, a case central to the commission’s inquiry. Van der Merwe testified to witnessing Pretorius using an apartheid-era suffocation method known as “tubing” on Mbhense.
Marius van der Merwe, a former member of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), testified before the commission in November 2025. His testimony was highly sensitive; he implicated suspended EMPD Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi, alleging that Mkhwanazi ordered him and others to dispose of the body of Emmanuel Mbhense, a robbery suspect who had been tortured and killed by officers in 2022.
The murder of Van der Merwe sent shockwaves through the country and raised serious alarms about the safety of whistleblowers. He had refused witness protection prior to his death.
President Ramaphosa has previously expressed being “terribly appalled” by the targeting of witnesses, and this arrest marks the first major step toward accountability in a case that has highlighted the dangers faced by those who testify against corrupt networks within the justice system.
Police have previously stated that 12 individuals were considered persons of interest in the broader Mbhense murder investigation, and they are probing whether a syndicate is systematically eliminating those connected to the case .
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
