The murder of Marius van der Merwe, who gave evidence before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry as Witness D, raises serious questions about the state’s ability to protect witnesses. He was shot dead outside his home after testifying, a killing that will inevitably cause others to think twice before agreeing to give evidence. After the shooting, the commission, together with the police, the SANDF and the State Security Agency, moved to strengthen security for remaining witnesses.
While this response is necessary, it came too late for Van der Merwe and does little to restore confidence. An inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the justice system cannot function when witnesses believe that giving evidence places their lives at risk. What makes this case particularly troubling is that the threat was known.
Police were aware of the risks facing Van der Merwe and other witnesses. It is not good enough to excuse this failure by claiming that he declined protection. In matters of this seriousness, the responsibility to protect witnesses rests firmly with the state.
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At a minimum, covert surveillance and intelligence-led monitoring should have been in place around all identified witnesses, whether or not they asked for visible protection. South Africans have seen this before. Babita Deokaran exposed corruption in the Gauteng Health Department and was murdered outside her home in 2021.
In both cases, warning signs were present, but nothing was done to protect them. All that followed was rhetoric. Public anger is also fuelled by the impunity and open disdain shown by those implicated in the matters before the commission.
Their conduct suggests they believe they are more powerful than the state itself, able to scoff at evidence, intimidate witnesses, and act without consequence. No one should be more powerful than the state. Restoring confidence requires more than statements and revised security plans.
It requires arrests, prosecutions and convictions for Van der Merwe’s murder, as well as accountability for the failures that allowed it to happen. Without this, witnesses will remain silent and the work of the commission will be fatally weakened.
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