Matipandile Sotheni, left, and slain Marius van der Merwe.
Image: Itumeleng English / GRAPHIC
As Marius van der Merwe was shot with an AK-47, allegedly by a former police officer who had stalked him for weeks while plotting the hit with the now-dead Wiandré Pretorius, his wife and two children were right there with him.
In sheer horror, they watched helplessly from inside the car as the man they loved so dearly — who had just stepped out to open the gate as they arrived home — collapsed and bled out in front of them.
And though they miraculously survived the December 5 attack in the driveway of their Brakpan home — the alleged shooter firing from a Suzuki Swift before speeding away — they had been only a breath away from dying too.
So close, in fact, that Matipandile Sotheni, now, apart from being accused of murdering Van der Merwe, also faces three counts of attempted murder.
This is according to the charge sheet in the case, seen by IOL.
It described what the state believed had happened that night.
Sotheni, who briefly appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Monday as he made his first appearance two days after his arrest, had served in the police’s most elite unit, the Special Task Force, before his resignation in 2019.
The 41-year-old bodyguard's arrest on Saturday, during which he was allegedly found with almost 200 rounds of ammunition, had come about three months after Van der Merwe — who had been known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission — was killed.
Matipandile Sotheni, 41
Image: Itumeleng English
If his Instagram videos are anything to go by, Sotheni appeared to take pride in his marksmanship, often posting clips of himself firing a range of firearms at shooting ranges.
In three short clips, he effortlessly picked off an egg, a lemon and a bottle of water perched on thin wooden stakes from about 100m away.
"This is the target... it is 100m away... now or never," he said in one of the videos posted in May last year.
He also showed off expensive sports cars.
In a Facebook photo, he is seen wearing a black T-shirt with the word “Sithole” splashed across the top in a dripping, white horror-style font designed to look like running blood.
Beneath it is the silhouette of a man holding a rifle, while the words “Now or Never” appear at the bottom in the same dramatic lettering.
Another image showed Sotheni posing in camouflage uniform next to a message that appeared to make a mockery of a famous Bible verse.
The words read: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: I am the f*cken (sic) valley.”
SUSPECT: Matipandile Sotheni
Image: INSTAGRAM
According to the charge sheet, shortly after Van der Merwe's bombshell testimony at the commission, during which he had implicated a string of people in a 2022 murder, including Pretorius, Pretorius and others had conspired with Sotheni to have him killed.
Pretorius, who died after reportedly shooting himself at a petrol station last month, was a suspect in the murder of Emmanuel Mbense.
According to Van der Merwe’s testimony, local police chief Julius Mkhwanazi ordered him to dispose of Mbense’s body.
Mkhwanazi has since been suspended over the allegations, which he vehemently denied.
No arrests have been made regarding the allegations pertaining to Mbense.
Sotheni's charge sheet said: “The accused [Sotheni] did not personally know the deceased [Van der Merwe].
“Pretorius accompanied Sotheni to the area where Van der Merwe resided in Gauld Street, Brakpan, and pointed out the residence of the deceased to the accused.”
Sotheni had then allegedly begun monitoring the home of Van der Merwe, also known as Vlam, in the days before the attack.
“Sotheni thereafter conducted surveillance of the residence of Van der Merwe and scouted the area prior to the commission of the offence."
It said he had also armed himself specifically for the killing.
The weapon is still missing.
“Sotheni procured a firearm, namely an AK-47 rifle, for the purpose of carrying out the planned killing.”
The charge sheet stated that on the evening of December 5, Sotheni had positioned himself near the house and waited.
“Sotheni positioned himself near the vicinity of the residence of Van der Merwe and waited for the [him] and his family to return home.”
KILLED: Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe
Image: X
Later that evening, Van der Merwe had returned home with his wife and their two young children after an outing.
The charge sheet, which did not give the ages of the children, then described the final moments before the shooting.
“Van der Merwe alighted from his motor vehicle to open the gate to the property," it said.
Moments later, the fatal shots were fired.
“Sotheni, in a dark-coloured hatchback motor vehicle, fired shots, fatally wounding Van der Merwe.”
The state said it would rely on several forms of evidence, which it believed linked Sotheni and others to the surveillance and planning before the killing.
“The state will rely on tracker data, call data analysis, witness statements and other evidence linking Sotheni and other persons to the surveillance of Van der Merwe prior to the shooting,” the charge sheet read.
“The state will allege that the offence was committed in the furtherance of a common purpose.”
It said the killing happened shortly after Van der Merwe testified at the Madlanga Commission.
“The state will further allege that Van der Merwe had recently testified before the Madlanga Commission and that the killing occurred shortly thereafter in circumstances suggesting that he was targeted because of his involvement as a witness.”
The charge sheet then set out the attempted murder charges linked to the presence of Van der Merwe’s family in the car during the shooting.
In one count, it alleged that Sotheni had attempted to kill Van der Merwe’s wife, who had been seated inside the vehicle during the attack.
“In that upon or about December 5, and at or near Gauld Street, Brenthurst, Brakpan, Sotheni unlawfully and intentionally attempted to kill Leanne Myra McLean, an adult female, who was seated inside a motor vehicle in the driveway of her residence at the time of the shooting of her husband, Marius van der Merwe, by discharging an AK-47 rifle from a motor vehicle,” the charge sheet said.
Two further counts related to the couple’s children.
"Sotheni unlawfully and intentionally attempted to kill a [minor child] who was seated inside the motor vehicle at the time of the shooting," it stated.
“[He also] unlawfully and intentionally attempted to kill [another minor child] who was seated inside the motor vehicle during the shooting.”
The charge sheet also detailed ammunition allegedly found when Sotheni was arrested.
“During the arrest of Sotheni, the police found 125 rounds of R5 rifle ammunition, 31 rounds of R1 rifle ammunition and 19 rounds of 9mm Parabellum ammunition,” the charge sheet stated.
“[Sotheni] was not in possession of a permit or licence to possess the ammunition found.”
The matter had been postponed to next week Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said it was unfortunate that a "highly trained, specialised former member can appear in court on such a serious charge".
“The gunman who shot Witness D, shot him from a car, and that can only be possible if you have got a highly trained gunman to do so," she said.
"[The shooter fired] two shots, and he was killed by one shot."
She also said he was a bodyguard for a Houghton businessman.
Mathe said the state would have invested over R1m to train an officer like Sotheni.
National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola said at the weekend that another suspect was being sought in connection with the murder.
IOL