Tubed and tossed into a river: the apartheid-style torture murdered Marius Van Der Merwe witnessed

Murdered Madlanga Inquiry witness, Marius “Vlam” van Der Merwe, last month set out for the panel the horrifying scene he encountered early one morning after being called out to an “operation” in Sallies Village near the Vulcania Industrial Complex on the East Rand.

The founder and managing director of the of private security firm, QRF Task Team, specialising in “vehicle tracking and recoveries and guarding”, said he walked in on SAPS and Ekhuruleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) officials “tubing” a suspect with a blue plastic SAPS forensic bag.

Later, when the man had succumbed to his injuries, the killers had called now-suspended JMPD Chief, Julius Mkhwanazi, to come and “sort out the scene”. Mkhwanazi confirmed this in his testimony this week.

The Metro Chief Supervisor sweated and drank copious amounts of water as he was finally "cornered" during cross-examination at the inquiry, admitting his culpability.

According to Van der Merwe’s testimony, Mkhwanazi had issued the order for those involved in the killing and extortion to get rid of the corpse “in a mineshaft or a river”.

Van Der Merwe was shot and killed in front of his wife and children outside his home on Friday night.

Apartheid tactics

Van der Merwe said he had first been alerted by Cobus Janse van Rensburg of Ghostguard Defensive Strategies, a “special high-risk” security company about the truck and stock recovery operation on a plot in the area. This had been stolen from a warehouse earlier.

Janse van Rensburg had informed him that an operation “knocking” a house for a robbery suspect involving a four-ton truck was in progress and that he should head out to the scene.

The 41-year-old father of two said he had been alone at home with his son at the time as his wife had taken his younger son to hospital. However, he had made a plan and had driven through to the scene.

On a plot in Sallies Village, he found various security companies as well as Jaco Hanekom, a SAPS informer, Wiandre Pretorius, “a person who presents himself as SAPS member”, said Van Der Merwe, Constable Juan-Mare Eksteen from SAPS Flying Squad and Brakpan reserve Constable, Zander Fritz

Also present were Ekhuruleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) officers, Kersha-Leigh Stols and Aiden McKenzie, as well as Etienne van der Walt of Titen Security and Janse van Rensburg, who had all been in the main house with the suspect.

“After we gained entry to the property we found a female and infant baby on the property and learned the main team was in the house”.

When he entered, Fritz, Pretorius, McKenzie, Van Der Walt, Hanekom and Janse Van Rensburg were all allegedly questioning the suspect who had admitted to the “invasion and robbery” of the warehouse.

“He said that all he did was the transport and requested that we not hurt him. He said he had R500 000 in cash in the house which he tried to bribe us with,” Van Der Merwe told the Madlanga Commission.

After this Pretorius had allegedly pushed the man into another bedroom while the premises were searched further.

“In the main bedroom there were case dockets where the suspect was identified, some SAPS forensic bags, live ammunition and various tools.”

Apartheid-style tactics

When he returned later to the room where the suspect was being held, Van Der Merwe said that two SAPS officers from Brakpan had been assisting Pretorius to immobilise the person on a double bed.

“I entered the room and sat next to the suspect and Wiandre stopped the tubing. I picked up a wooden table leg and held his legs down. He was very wet. I asked him if he knew were the stock was.

“Wiandre continued tubing him with the help of the SAPS members. I got up and left the house”, testified Van Der Merwe.

As he was exiting he had encountered one of the EMPD officers “carrying a bucket of water to the room where the suspect was”.

He later witnessed the two Brakpan SAPS members “leaving the house carrying a small, black, sports bag”

“He will never talk again”

Outside inspecting the truck, Van der Merwe said he had been joined by “Cobus and the others and when I asked Wiandre if the suspect had talked he said ‘he will never talk again”.

Re-entering the house Van Der Merwe said he had found Stols on her cellphone trying to contact a paramedic to declare the suspect dead. Pretorius had then caucused the law enforcement members on how they should go about cleaning up the scene of the crime and getting rid of the body.

Pretorius had allegedly suggested calling head of SAPS counter-intelligence, General Feroz Khan “to fix this” but Van De Merwe had said it was “his problem” to sort out.

Pretorius had allegedly threatnened Van Der Merwe that “it's all of us in this and if anyone talks I will go to prison for killing them”.

Meanwhile, Hanekom had reported to the group that “The Chief” would sort it out and was on his way. This turned out to be Mkhwanazi, whom Hanekom referred to as “Induna”.

Dressed in a dark tracksuit Mkhwanazi allegedly huddled with the law enforcement members.

“When they came back, he [Mkhwanazi] looked at me. Pretorius then informed me that I have to take the body and dump it. He said I should relax as my vehicle was marked and that it would be unlikely to be stopped”.

The suspect was then driven to a river nearby and his body dumped. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has been investigating this matter since 2022.

Asked why he had gone along with the crime Van der Merwe said that he did not have a chance “to disagree".

"I was outnumbered and this was a very serious and dangerous situation”.

He said that he had interpreted the instruction to mean “if I don’t comply I would probably be next”. DM