Brakpan – Wiandre Pretorius, who died by suicide on Saturday, was a person of interest in the murder of Marius van der Merwe, also known as “Witness D”, police confirmed on Sunday.
Pretorius, 41, who was implicated in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, died by suicide on Saturday, two days after he survived a hit at his Boksburg home. Unknown gunmen had fired about 16 shots at Pretorius’ white Isuzu bakkie, which was parked outside his home on Klapper Street, in Van Dyk Park in Boksburg, but he was left unharmed.
He died on Saturday, just after 22:00, after he allegedly shot and killed himself at a filling station in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said. She alleged that he had an argument with his partner, Juan-Mare Eksteen, who is a member of the SA Police Service, before pointing the gun at himself.
According to Mathe, Pretorius had been a person of interest in Van der Merwe’s murder. “After IPID released a report, he [Pretorius] was identified as one of the persons of interest, and he was taken in for questioning. His cellphones and firearms were among some of his items that were seized by the police,” Mathe added.
Van der Merwe was gunned down outside his home in Brakpan in December 2025 – weeks after he had previously placed Pretorius at the scene where Emmanuel Mbense was allegedly tortured, murdered, and dumped in a dam in 2022 – while testifying at the commission. Pretorius had been questioned by police following an IPID report.
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