Saturday, 06 December 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the cold-blooded assassination of Witness D who testified at the Madlanga Commission, identified as Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe, who was murdered in front of his wife and children. This killing is a direct attack on the work of the Madlanga Commission and an unmistakable warning shot from the criminal underworld to halt the exposure of corruption and criminal infiltration within our policing structures.

Witness D was a former Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) member and the owner of a private tactical unit who came forward with evidence implicating senior police figures in heinous crimes. He gave explosive testimony to the Commission, detailing how EMPD Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi ordered him to dispose of the body of a suspect allegedly killed by EMPD and SAPS members. He ultimately dumped the body in a dam out of fear for his own life.

Witness D’s evidence was so sensitive that he testified off-camera but despite this, the state still failed to protect him. His testimony made plain the extent to which criminality has merged with official policing functions, with officers using state authority to commit and cover up murders. His assassination is, therefore, a calculated message intended to intimidate the Commission, silence witnesses, and protect the criminal syndicates and drug cartels that have deeply rooted themselves into South Africa’s law-enforcement agencies.

We reiterate that the EFF repeatedly called for robust witness-protection measures for all individuals participating in the Madlanga Commission. We cautioned that without full state protection, witnesses would be exposed to danger, noting the state’s track record of failing whistleblowers and warned that the same negligence would lead to more deaths. The government has once again failed to protect a witness who risked his life to reveal the truth.

The EFF demands a full, urgent and independent investigation into the assassination, including the identification of those who ordered and facilitated the killing; immediate protection for all remaining witnesses in the Madlanga Commission, and the establishment of a strengthened, independent witness protection service free of political and criminal interference.

The EFF sends our condolences to the van de Merwe family in this difficult time, and intend to stand with them until justice is served.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581