The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has issued a blistering condemnation of what it terms the “cold-blooded, contract-style assassination” of Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe, a key figure identified as Witness D before the high-stakes Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Van der Merwe was gunned down in a suspected hit on Friday, 5 December 2025, sending shockwaves through South Africa’s legal and political circles.
In a strongly-worded statement released on Saturday, the Red Berets framed the killing not as an isolated criminal act, but as a strategic and brutal attack on the state’s ability to uncover truth. “The assassination of Witness D is a direct declaration of war by criminal elements embedded within and outside our law enforcement agencies,” read the statement, signed by EFF Commander-in-Chief Julius Malema. “It is a clear, violent message to anyone considering exposing corruption: speak, and you will be silenced permanently.”
The Commission and The Testimony
The Madlanga Commission, headed by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe, was established to investigate allegations of deep-seated corruption, procurement fraud, and criminal networks within the South African Police Service (SAPS). Van der Merwe’s testimony, delivered in a closed session weeks prior, is understood to have been particularly damning. Sources close to the commission suggest he provided detailed evidence linking senior police officials to organised crime syndicates, specifically in the areas of firearm trafficking, protection rackets, and the manipulation of multi-billion-rand tender processes.
His murder now raises alarming questions about witness protection protocols and the security of the commission’s work. “How does a witness of such pivotal importance become so vulnerable?” the EFF’s statement demanded. “This points either to catastrophic negligence or, more sinisterly, to collusion.”
Calls for an Independent, International Investigation
Going beyond mere condemnation, the EFF has called for an urgent, independent judicial inquest led by a judge from outside the normal SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) structures. They argue that the very institutions under scrutiny cannot be trusted to investigate a murder potentially linked to their own personnel.
“We demand that President Ramaphosa immediately appoint an independent panel, with possible international forensic support, to take over this investigation,” said EFF National Spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys. “To allow SAPS to investigate this is to ask the fox to guard the henhouse after the hen has already been eaten.”
Broader Implications: A Chilling Effect
Legal analysts and anti-corruption activists agree that the killing threatens to paralyse the commission’s work. “This is designed to instil terror,” said a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, who asked not to be named. “Other witnesses will now be justifiably terrified to come forward. The commission’s credibility and effectiveness hang in the balance.”
The assassination also places immense pressure on Justice Khampepe and her team. They must now navigate unprecedented security concerns while assuring remaining witnesses of their safety—a task that appears monumentally difficult in the wake of such a brazen attack.
A Nation at a Crossroads
The EFF’s statement concludes by framing the moment as a critical juncture for South Africa’s democracy: “This is no longer just about police corruption. It is about whether criminality or constitutionalism will govern this country. We either confront this shadow state head-on, or we surrender to it.”
As the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks are reportedly now leading the murder investigation, the public and the political sphere await their first findings with profound scepticism. The murder of Marius van der Merwe has transformed from a criminal case into a stark symbol of the violent resistance facing South Africa’s struggle against systemic graft.
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