Justice and constitutional development ministerMmamoloko Kubayihas faced backlash after her comments regarding the motive behind the killing ofMarius van der Merwe, a witness at the Madlanga commission of inquiry. Van der Merwe, a whistle-blower and former Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) officer, was murdered outside his home on December 5, shortly after his testimony at the commission. Briefing the media at the weekend, Kubayi suggested the live broadcast of Van der Merwe’s testimony could have led to his fatal attack, despite his identity not being disclosed to the public at the time of the broadcast.
“The reason initially for the proposal that there must be in-camera testimony was informed by the fact there would be risks, and we needed to ensure the risks are extremely minimised. “If you talk to people who work closely with those who come forward as whistle-blowers, they would tell you sometimes because of a person narrating the story publicly, the person involved would know who that person is.” Kubayi suggested the best way to protect witnesses is to end public broadcasting of the proceedings. “I know we are going to fight with the media, but sometimes it’s necessary, and this is what I’ve asked the Madlanga commission to do, to say let’s review.
We agreed because initially that’s what they wanted to do. “This is what they have to do, otherwise we will have a commission that doesn’t have people coming forward to testify because they fear for their lives.” Van der Merwe’s identity wasn’t known when he appeared before the Madlanga commission. He was referred to as “Witness D”.
Read Full Article on TimesLIVE
[paywall]
However, his voice was not disguised. Kubayi expressed concern that the public knew Witness D who had been fatally shot before it was officially announced.
[/paywall]
