‘They are coming for me — I’ve done what I needed to do’

Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe knew he was living on borrowed time.

The man South Africa knew only as witness D at the Madlanga commission had escaped two previous assassination attempts before he was shot dead in cold blood in his driveway in Brakpan on Friday night. One of those attempts was just two weeks ago.

His devastated family told the Sunday Times yesterday that he had warned them in recent weeks that someone was out to kill him.

“When we asked him to beef up his security, he said no amount of security would protect him,” his mother-in law, Lesley McLean, said. “He knew they were coming for him. He had done what he needed to do when he testified during the commission. He was prepared to die, but as a family we were not prepared to lose him.”

Van der Merwe gave crucial evidence at the commission in November, claiming Ekurhuleni metro police (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi had ordered him to dump the body of a man officers had killed during an interrogation involving “tubing”.

His death has raised questions about the level of protection for South African whistleblowers as well as witness-risk assessments and protection mechanisms.

Just after 8pm on Friday, as he struggled to open the gate at his home, he was shot dead in front of his wife, Lee-Anne McLean, and their two young children, aged 8 and 4.

Through tears, Lesley said they were in the house when she heard a thunderous sound and her husband shouted, “Get down, get down.”

“My husband was watching TV in the bedroom when the incident happened. I was in the kitchen. Everything happened so fast. In a few seconds, it was quiet. We ran outside because Lee-Anne was shouting, ‘Daddy, daddy, Marius has been shot.’ As we approached the gate, she screamed, saying Marius is dead,” she said. The couple had been together for 11 years.

I have lost the love of my life. My children have lost their father. And the country has lost a hero

Lesley said her daughter told her that a car had followed them from the bridge along the main road. When they turned onto their street, the vehicle slowed behind them.

“Marius went out to open the gate, because it opens manually. The car passed them slightly, then they started opening fire,” she said.

It took time to move the children from the scene, as the eight-year-old kept kneeling beside his father’s body, crying.

“Vlam”, 41, would have celebrated his birthday on December 20. Lee-Anne has barely slept since the shooting, Lesley said. As mourners filed in, she stared into space, tears streaming down her face.

She penned a note: “I have lost the love of my life. My children have lost their father. And the country has lost a hero.”

His death came after he had survived two previous assassination attempts this year, one of them just weeks ago, at an informal settlement where he and his team were working.

The first attempt on Van der Merwe’s life, Lesley said, was “a few months ago” at Plastic City, a notorious informal settlement in Brakpan that was demolished in October by the EMPD in a major operation targeting illegal miners. Van der Merwe’s security company, QRF Task Team, was providing security in the area.

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.

Yesterday his home in a tree-lined street was quiet, with a small glass vase of flowers in the driveway the only hint of what had happened there the previous night. A child’s plastic scooter lay inside the yard behind the car.

Van der Merwe testified before the commission on November 14. He described events of the night of April 15 2022 when the owner of another security company had asked him for help in an operation to “knock” a suspect’s house linked to a warehouse invasion and robbery in Brakpan. They drove to Sallies Village, where they found the suspect, who admitted involvement and was found with R500,000 in cash.

He told the commission a plastic bag had been placed over the suspect’s head to suffocate him, and Vlam said he held the suspect’s legs down with a broken table leg to get him to reveal where stolen goods were kept. He left the house briefly but later saw Brakpan officers hurrying out. When he asked if the suspect had talked, he was told, “He will never talk again.”

Mkhwanazi later arrived in a dark tracksuit. After meeting with metro officers, he allegedly told the group to dump the suspect’s body in a mine shaft or dam. Mkhwanazi was suspended on November 11 after an internal audit into allegations of misconduct.

The witness protection programme must now be taken to a higher level. And I want results out of this investigation as quickly as possible because we cannot allow this level of lawlessness, particularly the security cluster, to continue

—  President Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday Van der Merwe’s death would deter many other witnesses from coming forward. Speaking to journalists after Cosatu’s 40th anniversary rally in Soweto, he said: “It’s not acceptable that witnesses who are unravelling things and coming out with the truth of what has been happening, the rot that has been prevalent in our security cluster, are now as they tell the truth getting killed themselves. This is going to deter many other witnesses from coming forward.

“I’ve said to the minister they must make sure the investigation is thorough. They must leave no stone unturned until we find the perpetrators of this heinous crime. And I’ve also said that we must now focus on witness protection. The witness protection programme must now be taken to a higher level. And I want results out of this investigation as quickly as possible because we cannot allow this level of lawlessness, particularly the security cluster, to continue.”

Justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said Van der Merwe had declined an offer of protection. “I did interact with advocate Kumalo who is responsible for the security of the commission of inquiry, the Madlanga commission as we know it, [he] did indicate to me that Mr Van der Merwe was offered protection, which he declined because he didn’t think that he needed it and because he runs his own security company.

“We are in agreement that there is a need for us to review how the witnesses are testifying in the Madlanga commission following this incident and also ensuring that the work is not compromised going forward.”

Yesterday afternoon residents began streaming to Van der Merwe’s home, placing flowers at the gate. Some blew kisses towards the scene, calling him a hero.

Local business owner Barney Andrews said he drives through Gauld Street daily.

“These days in South Africa, we watch the Madlanga and ad hoc like it’s Days of Our Lives. But what happened here makes it real. This is shocking. The brazenness of those who don’t want this country to work, especially during the commission,” he said.

ANC regional secretary Jongizizwe Dlabathi visited the home yesterday, and said Van der Merwe’s testimony had been “damning”.

“We view his assassination as calculated, an attempt to remove him as a witness. His killing is a brutal attack on justice and the rule of law,” he said.

Ian Cameron, a DA MP who is also the chairperson of the police portfolio committee in the National Assembly, said the lives of government officials, commissioners, lawyers, and MPs taking part in the Madlanga commission and the parliamentary ad hoc committee on corruption in the criminal justice systems are now at risk.

We cannot allow a climate in which witnesses fear that stepping forward may cost them their lives. If individuals begin to doubt that the state can safeguard them, the entire chain of accountability is weakened

—  Ian Cameron, police portfolio committee chair

“A murder of this nature is not only an attack on a person but also an attack on the integrity of processes that rely on people having the courage to come forward. We cannot allow a climate in which witnesses fear that stepping forward may cost them their lives. If individuals begin to doubt that the state can safeguard them, the entire chain of accountability is weakened,“ he said.

Crime expert Chad Thomas said the assassination raised serious questions about the effectiveness of South Africa’s witness-risk assessments and protection mechanisms.

“Sadly the list of assassinated witnesses, whistleblowers and investigators is getting longer. There needs to be far more effective measures in place to protect those being targeted by criminals. The current legislation governing witness protection is not adequate for the sheer volume of people who now require safeguarding, and the state simply does not have the resources to cope,” he said.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola would brief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on the murder probe and on efforts to enhance security. She confirmed that an AK-47 was used. “Nothing was taken; his firearm, cellphone, and wallet were still on him,” she said.

The Madlanga commission issued a short statement yesterday expressing “profound sadness” at the killing and acknowledging Van der Merwe’s contribution to uncovering serious allegations of criminality in the Ekurhuleni municipality and EMPD.

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