The widow of slain former EMPD officer, Marius van der Merwe, has paid tribute to her husband in a moving letter read during the memorial service held at the Medley House in Brakpan. In a heartfelt tribute to her slain husband, Leanne van der Merwe, the wife of Marius van der Merwe, remembered her husband as a loving, caring father, and family superhero to his children. Van der Merwe, the former Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) reservist, also known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, was gunned down on the driveway of his Brakpan home on Friday, December 5, just after 8pm.
His tragic assassination came just weeks after his testimony at the Madlanga Commission, with speculation still rife on the reasons behind his alleged hit. “Where do I begin? Our story started online with you and the boys.
I knew then that our lives would be fated. We have lived our best and worst times, and through good and bad, we always managed to find each other’s hearts, and I will cling to these memories today. You were the love of my life.
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You left me with the most incredible children,” she said through a letter read by the presiding pastors during Wednesday’s memorial service. Following Van der Merwe’s tragic passing, which has left her with four sons, Leanne said she knows deep down in her heart that her husband loved her,believing his spirit will live on through their children. believing his spirit will live on through their children “I know and trust that you will live through them.
We know that because you were a great father, and we will be eternally grateful forever. From the milkshake dates to operations, you took me everywhere,” she said. Family and friends have remembered Marius van der Merwe as a community hero during a send-off ceremony held at the Medley House in Brakpan.
The community leader, who had made the fight against illegal mining his mission, was given two services – one for the family and close friends, and another for the public at the Medley House wedding venue in Brakpan on Wednesday. Van der Merwe reportedly died shortly after sending a voice note expressing his desire to expose senior state roleplayers allegedly facilitating illegal mining, a mission he took seriously until his demise.
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