SAPS bars members from memorial drive for deceased reservist Wiandre Pretorius

Gauteng police have been barred from attending and participating in a memorial drive service for late Boksburg resident, Wiandre Pretorius.

Pretorius, a South African Police Service (SAPS) reservist, took his own life on Saturday, just days after an alleged attempted hit on his life.

He was a person of interest in an ongoing Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) probe into the 2022 Brakpan murder of Emmanuel Mbhense, a 51-year-old father.

Mbhense was killed after being allegedly tortured for hours during an interrogation by Pretorius and several EMPD officers.

In an official letter issued by the Provincial Commander of Gauteng SAPS Rapid Response Services on Thursday, an instruction was served to all SAPS members, forbidding any officer from participating in Pretorius' memorial drive.

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