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The case against former police special task force member Matipandile Sotheni, who is accused of killing Witness D, is built on WhatsApp chats, phone records and vehicle tracking records.
Investigating officer Lawrence Mdlalose said in his affidavit submitted to oppose Sotheni’s bail application that Marius van der Merwe, known as Witness D at the Madlanga commission, had sent his friends a WhatsApp informing them about a black Suzuki Swift which was following him.
“The deceased further informed his friends that he had previously observed a similar vehicle near his residence and approached it in order to confront its occupants, whereupon the vehicle sped off,” said Mdlalose.
The state revealed that according to eNatis, the car belongs to Sotheni’s girlfriend.
Witness D was fatally shot outside his Brakpan home shortly after he testified at the Madlanga commission, where he implicated police and Ekurhuleni metro police officers in the murder of a suspect, Emmanuel Mbhense, and also implicated Ekurhuleni metro police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi in the cover-up of Mbhense’s murder.
“This conduct is indicative of a deliberate attempt to evade detection.” — Investigating officer Lawrence Mdlalose
Mdlalose said the phones of Sotheni and Wiandre Pretorius, another suspect who died by suicide in February and whom police suggest was the driver, were switched off on the day they travelled to Brakpan.
“This conduct is indicative of a deliberate attempt to evade detection,” Mdlalose said.
It is further alleged that both accused confirmed during the taking of their warning statements that they were in the vicinity of Witness D’s house on the day he was murdered.
Ballistics tests have revealed that there was tampering of the firearm that was used to shoot Witness D.
Sotheni — who is facing 16 counts including conspiracy to commit murder, murder, attempted murder, possession of unlicensed ammunition and failure to safeguard ammunition, among other charges — has denied the allegations.
On Thursday, he appeared before the Brakpan magistrate’s court for a bail application.
The hearing had started when Sotheni informed his legal representatives that he needed a Xhosa-speaking interpreter.
The matter was then stood down for prosecutor Adv Nqobile Maphalala to ask the court manager to find a Xhosa-speaking interpreter.
He was unable to reach the court manager, and the matter was postponed to Friday.
Sowetan
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