National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola says arrests will be made “at the right time” in the murder of Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D, who testified before the Madlanga commission. Speaking to the media during an oversight visit during ongoing Safer Festive Season operations in Pretoria on Friday afternoon, Masemola said the investigation into Van der Merwe’s killing was still under way and involved multiple suspects. “The investigation is still ongoing.
There are more suspects who have been identified. It turns out to be quite a complicated case because it’s a case not solely about the matter of Van der Merwe. It links with other cases,” Masemola said.
Van der Merwe was shot dead outside his home in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, earlier this month. He had previously testified before the Madlanga commission of inquiry, where he implicated suspended Ekurhuleni metro police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi in alleged criminal activity. Masemola said police were taking a cautious approach to ensure arrests were supported by solid evidence.
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“We are working through it. We don’t want to arrest and investigate. We want to investigate and arrest,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there are complications, but we have got quite a number of people in scope — not three, more than that,” he added. Masemola said law enforcement agencies were working closely with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) on the case. “At the right time, we together with Ipid will make the necessary arrest in that case,” he said.
Last week, Masemola met with the investigating team before briefing the Van der Merwe family on progress in the high-profile murder investigation. He also confirmed that a white Chevrolet bakkie found abandoned in Alexandra matched the description of a vehicle captured on CCTV footage on the night Van der Merwe was killed.
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