The lead investigator in the murder of Emmanuel Mbhense has testified about her dissatisfaction upon learning that, Witness D, who was her key witness in a case implicating Julius Mkhwanazi, his subordinates and SAPS members, was set to testify before the Madlanga Commission.
Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe, known as Witness D, testified before the commission in November 2025 and was gunned down the following month.
“Commissioners, I want to be honest, I was not happy when [Witness D] came to give evidence because I was protecting him as well. I told the evidence leader that my heart is sore,” Nomsa Masuku said at the hearing yesterday.
In his evidence, Witness D told the commission how Mbhense was tortured to death by EMPD and SAPS officials.
He said after Mbhense died, those who were at the scene called Mkhwanazi, the suspended Ekurhuleni police chief, who then instructed them to dispose of the body in a river.
Witness D said he understood the instruction to be for him hence he used his car to dispose of Mbhense’s body.
Masuku also told the commission that she took Witness D’s statement in 2022 and kept it a secret because she didn’t want to put his life at risk.
She further told the commission that the reason the case had delays is because of how police treated the case after the body was discovered, the NPA refusing to prosecute based on Witness D’s statement and the physical threats they received while investigating the case.
One of the threats she told the commission about is when she was attacked while travelling with her family.
She said while investigating Ekurhuleni metro police officials, her car was shot at. Her son, who was with her at and was her driver at the time, was badly injured and left wheelchair-bound. He is only starting to attempt to walk now.
She was attacked again in December 2024.
“My vehicle was shot at while I was travelling with my family along the N17,” she said, adding that she could not say if the shooting and threats were a results of the Mbhense case, as she deals with a number of highly sensitive matters.
Masuku said she is confident that they will secure a conviction on the Mbhense matter when it goes to court.
She also told the commission that they don’t arrest to investigate but to secure conviction, adding that she understands the frustration caused by the delay in the case.
“It was worth it [to investigate completely] because if we make an arrest now ... our docket is ready for trial. And if we go to court, a trial date will be set soon and we are sure that we will be getting a conviction on this matter,” she added.
Masuku also revealed that two law enforcement officials have been added as suspects in the matter.
On Wednesday, the acting head of investigations at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Thuso Keefelakae, told the commission that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is expected to make a prosecutorial decision before the end of the month.
Police have confirmed that investigations revealed that 12 people were at the scene of Mbhense’s murder. According to national police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe, four of the 12 individuals allegedly linked to Mbhense’s killing have since died.
Const Raymond Mzwakhe Khoza, 36, an EMPD officer, was shot dead at his Tsakane home in October 2023 after responding to a neighbour’s call for assistance, while police informant Jaco Hanekom was killed at a filling station in March 2023.
Before he was murdered in December, Witness D implicated Wiandre Pretorius in Mbhense’s death. Police later named Pretorius as a person of interest in that killing. Pretorius shot himself dead over the weekend, days after surviving an apparent attack in which his vehicle was riddled with bullets.
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