MURDER-ACCUSED: Matipandile Sotheni, 41
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
MATIPANDILE Sotheni, 41, accused of killing whistle‑blower Marius van der Merwe, known as “Witness D” at the Madlanga Commission, made his first court appearance at Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
Heavily armed police officers were stationed outside the courthouse.
The brief hearing was adjourned to allow for a bail application ahead of a hearing on 25 March.
Sotheni faces a raft of charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Van der Merwe was shot dead outside his Brakpan home on 5 December 2025.
He was shot shortly after giving bombshell testimony about corruption and an alleged murder cover‑up involving members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
Sotheni was arrested on Saturday by a task team investigating offences linked to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry - the first arrest tied to revelations from the commission.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the task team obtained a warrant before carrying out the operation.
“The task team established to investigate cases emanating from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has registered its first breakthrough with the arrest of a suspect believed to be the shooter in the Marius van der Merwe murder case,” Mathe said.
“The vehicle believed to have been used on the day Witness D was murdered has also been seized.”
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said on Sunday another suspect linked to the killing remains at large.
Masemola declined to comment on a motive for the murder.