Madlanga Commission: Police offer witness protection after assassination attempt

Following another attempted assassination on a person mentioned in the Madlanga Commission, police have reiterated they are willing to provide witness protection.

On Thursday, Wiandre Pretorius narrowly escaped death after he was fired at 16 times by unknown gunmen just outside his house in Boksburg.

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Testimony by the late Witness D, Marius van der Merwe, linked Pretorius to the torture and killing of a Brakpan man, whose body was dumped at a lake in Germiston.

The assassination attempt on Pretorius comes two months after the killing of Van der Merwe.

Before that, there was also an assassination attempt on controversial businessman Brown Mogotsi prior to him appearing before the Madlanga Commission.

All three of these incidents took place in Gauteng.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said it’s too early to confirm whether they are all linked.

“But safe to say that in terms of the process relating to witness protection, as SAPS [South African Police Service], where we are investigating a case and it clear there is a need for a witness to go through the witness protection, we will of course do the necessary linking up with the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority].”

In the meantime, Pretorius was seen with police around his home on Thursday and when asked by reporters how he was feeling, he said he was okay.