‘Witness D’ escaped two previous assassination attempts

The first attempt on ‘Witness D’ Marius ‘Vlam’ van der Merwe’s life was a few months ago at Plastic City during a major operation targeting illegal miners.

The second attempt was about two weeks ago at the same location when a bullet meant for him hit a rock before grazing his forehead. On Friday night, as he struggled to open the gate at his home, he was shot dead in front of his wife and their two children aged eight and four years.