The African National Congress (ANC) in Ekurhuleni has called on law enforcement agencies to act swiftly to apprehend the suspected killers of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry’s witness Marius van der Merwe.
The 41-year-old was shot and killed in front of his family in the driveway of their home in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg, on Friday night.
In a statement, the ANC in Ekurhuleni has expressed shock over what it describes as a calculated assassination of a key witness at the commission.
Van der Merwe had implicated suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi in a murder following the killing of a man whose body was thrown in a dam in 2022.
It has urged the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee to continue their work and not be intimidated by the murders, nor allow violence or criminality to derail the work of the commission.
The African National Congress has noted with deep sadness the brutal killing of Mr Marius van der Merwe, a witness before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, otherwise known as Madlanga… pic.twitter.com/jUqwiTAk0x
— ANC – African National Congress (@MYANC) December 6, 2025
Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen has called for intensified efforts to hold accountable those responsible for wrongdoing in the country’s law enforcement structures.
Steenhuisen says the best way to honour whistleblowers is to ensure that their evidence leads to convictions.
“The greatest tribute we can pay to whistleblowers like this, is to now ensure we double our efforts, to bring those responsible to justice, and also to ensure that the work of the Madlanga Commission ensures that those who have been responsible for terrible acts around policing, politicisation of our police service and security services are brought to justice and feel the full might of the law.”
🚨The DA condemns the assassination of Marius van der Merwe, known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission. This is designed to intimidate anti-corruption efforts.
“Witnesses and whistleblowers involved in the Madlanga Commission must be protected.” – John Steenhuisen, DA Leader pic.twitter.com/IYsDieKAXC
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) December 6, 2025
Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) first deputy president Mike Shingange has described the killing of Van der Merwe as a sign of the poor state of the country’s democracy.
“…Terrible state of our democracy. We don’t think this is what people fought for. Even those that we are commemorating today from Cosatu, they never envisaged this thing. This is an indictment of a society that we can’t even protect people who paid their lives in trying to save the country, but then we left them vulnerable to be killed like that.”
WATCH | Cosatu’s First Deputy President, Mike Shingange, has condemned the murder of witness D, Marius van der Merwe, saying it’s a deeply troubling development for the country’s democracy. pic.twitter.com/A6zfaGYvNf
— SABC News (@SABCNews) December 6, 2025
Madlanga Commission | Key witness murder raises security concerns
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