The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed an inquest docket has been opened pertaining to the death of Wiandre Pretorius (41), a police informant implicated in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Brig Athlenda Mathe, national spokesperson for the police, has confirmed the registration of an inquest docket in Brakpan in Gauteng province.
“This matter is under investigation. All role players including police detectives and forensic experts attended to the crime scene,” said Mathe.
Pretorius allegedly took his own life, shooting himself at a filling station in Brakpan yesterday – Saturday, 7 February. This reportedly happened at the Astron Energy filling station, just before 22:00. He allegedly shot himself with a 9mm handgun in the presence of his wife, Sgt Juan Mare Eksteen.
Various news platforms are reporting on the shocking death of Pretorius. He was a former police reservist.
According to reports, just two days earlier, on Thursday, 5 February, he survived an assassination attempt in Boksburg where his vehicle was riddled with 16 bullets. Police seized his firearms and cellphones following the hit for forensic analysis. He was considered a primary person of interest in the assassination of Witness D – Marius van der Merwe on 5 December last year.
Pretorius’ death comes as the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry continues uncovering a well-orchestrated web of alleged police corruption, political interference, and criminality within the South African criminal justice system. Pretorius was a police informant implicated in the Commission of Inquiry regarding the murder of Emmanuel Mbhense in 2022. He was also a person of interest in the assassination of Marius van der Merwe (known as Witness D) on 5 December last year.
Also known as “Vlam”, the slain witness was a former Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officer. He delivered explosive testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. He alleged that senior EMPD officials, including suspended acting chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi, were involved in the 2022 torture and murder of Mbhense. Van der Merwe testified that he was part of an EMPD operation involving the torture and death of Mbhense, with the body subsequently disposed of in the Duduza Dam, allegedly under the instruction of Mkhwanazi.
Witness D was himself a private security company owner at the time of his death. No direct arrests have been made regarding the assassination of Van Der Merwe.
As of February 2025, police officials have reportedly identified 12 individuals as “persons of interest” in the investigation into the 2022 torture and murder of Mbhense. Of the 12 primary “persons of interest”, four are now dead — three via assassination and one, Pretorius, by alleged suicide.
