BRAKPAN – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa has welcomed the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court ruling to deny bail to Matipandile “Andy” Sotheni (42) in the alleged murder of Marius “Vlam” Van der Merwe, known as Witness D in the Madlanga Commission of Enquiry. The bail application was heard again yesterday – Monday, following his arrest on 14 March.

Sotheni, a former SAPS Special Task Force member, is accused of murdering high-profile whistleblower Van der Merwe in Brakpan on 5 December last year. He was fatally shot weeks after his revelatory testimony before the Madlanga Commission into allegations of gross misconduct within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).

Lumka Mahanjana, regional spokesperson for the NPA Gauteng division in Pretoria, said Sotheni was facing multiple charges: conspiracy to commit murder, premeditated murder, three counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, four counts of unlawful possession of ammunition, four counts of failure to safeguard ammunition, failure to safeguard a firearm, and theft of state property.

Mahanjana said Sotheni applied to be released on R30 000 bail. “He cited the fact that he has no prior convictions or pending cases and that he has three minor children and a family who depend on him for support. The state opposed the bail application and argued that the accused posed a flight risk and was likely to interfere with the ongoing investigation,” said Mahanjana. She said the presiding magistrate agreed with the state’s submissions and found that Sotheni had failed to discharge the onus of proving that exceptional circumstances existed which, in the interests of justice, allowed his release on bail. The matter was postponed to 30 July for further investigation.

“It is alleged that after ‘Witness D’, Marius van der Merwe, testified before the Madlanga Commission on matters relating to a murder investigation in Brakpan in November 2025, the accused conspired to have him killed and conducted surveillance on him. The state further alleges that on 5 December 2025, the accused positioned himself in the vicinity of the deceased’s residence. When Van der Merwe arrived home with his wife and two minor children, the accused allegedly opened fire, fatally wounding him. He was declared dead at the scene,” said Mahanjana.

According to police, Sotheni’s arrest in the murder of whistleblower Van der Merwe was a breakthrough by the Police Task Team assigned to the investigation into organised criminal cases emanating from the Commission. Police opened a murder case for further investigation and confirmed that an AK-47 automatic rifle was used.

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