{"id":44242,"date":"2025-12-06T20:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T20:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=44242"},"modified":"2025-12-06T20:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T20:55:12","slug":"madlanga-commission-witness-d-marius-van-der-merwe-hit-death-wife-tiktok-latest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/12\/06\/madlanga-commission-witness-d-marius-van-der-merwe-hit-death-wife-tiktok-latest\/","title":{"rendered":"Widow of slain Madlanga Commission whistleblower breaks silence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cHow do I say goodbye\u201d \u2013 are the poignant words written by the widow of Marius van der Merwe, a whistleblower in the Madlanga Commission, who was gunned down on Friday, 5 December.<\/p>\n<p>The former Ekhuruleni Merro police officer, who started his own private security business, testified about a corruption cover-up, allegedly orchestrated by police boss Julius Mkhwanazi.<\/p>\n<p>Known as \u201cVlam\u201d, van der Merwe recently reported an attempt on his life. During the commission, he spoke on anonymity. He also turned down police protection.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-madlanga-commission-murder-whistleblower-s-wife-breaks-silence\">MADLANGA COMMISSION MURDER: WHISTLEBLOWER\u2019S WIFE BREAKS SILENCE<\/h2>\n<p>In a TikTok video, Leanne van der Merwe, the wife of Marius van der Merwe, shared a heartbreaking tribute to her husband, who was gunned down outside his home on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The professional photographer shared a video montage of her husband out and about with his family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do I say goodbye? How do I carry on, never seeing you again?<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cI love you forever, babe.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@_lea_gray_ollie\/video\/7580641770212510984\" data-video-id=\"7580641770212510984\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\">\n<section> @_lea_gray_ollie How do I say goodbye? How do I carry on never seeing you again? \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d I love you forever babe, always!!  #QRFtaskteam #vlam #marius \u266c som original \u2013 maya\ud83e\udd0d <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Marius van der Merwe was murdered less than two weeks after he testified at the Madlanga Commission into police corruption. Although speaking under anonymity as \u201cWitness D\u201d, van der Merwe raised concerns about a possible hit on his life.<\/p>\n<p>He later told <em>The Citizen<\/em> of his premonition, claiming his \u201cdays are numbered.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Money from Matlala\" class=\"wp-image-2418857\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Widow-of-slain-Madlanga-Commission-whistleblower-breaks-silence.jpeg?resize=640%2C427&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Widow-of-slain-Madlanga-Commission-whistleblower-breaks-silence.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mkhwanazi-768x512.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mkhwanazi-750x500.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mkhwanazi-960x640.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mkhwanazi-640x427.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mkhwanazi-255x170.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 255w\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marius van der Merwe accused EMPD deputy chief of police Julius Mkhwanazi of criminal activity. He testified at the Madlanga Commission under anonymity. Image X: City of Ekurhuleni.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-president-ramaphosa-offers-condolences\">PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA OFFERS CONDOLENCES<\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to the family of Marius van der Merwe.<\/p>\n<p>He shared in a statement: \u201cWhile our law enforcement agencies establish the circumstances leading to this heinous act, I am appalled and saddened by this attack on a former public servant who recently served the cause of justice and integrity by testifying at the Madlanga Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy thoughts are with the deeply traumatised family who came under attack last night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey faced death in circumstances that suggest Van der Merwe\u2019s brave testimony angered elements in our society who want to undermine the rule of law and set back the quest for truth and consequences in the fight against corruption.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The president added, \u201cAmid this trauma, we must remain resolute to end corruption and bring to justice those who have done wrong and are plotting to do more.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In July, Ramaphosa established the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, better known as the Madlanga Commission.<\/p>\n<p>The commission was tasked with investigating serious allegations of corruption, criminality and political interference within South Africa\u2019s criminal-justice system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Widow #slain #Madlanga #Commission #whistleblower #breaks #silence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHow do I say goodbye\u201d \u2013 are the poignant words written by the widow of Marius van der Merwe, a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44244,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242\/revisions\/44244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}