The killing in cold blood of Marius van der Merwe, better known as Witness D for his testimony at the Madlanga commission, sends a chilling message to all would-be whistleblowers.
This frightening message is that witnesses who dare expose corruption not only risk their careers but also their lives and, by extension, the lives of their loved ones.
Van der Merwe — who gave crucial evidence at the inquiry, exposing the alleged cover-up of the death of a man whose body was thrown into a dam — was callously murdered as he entered his home in Brakpan.
Until his killing, he had been known as Witness D – an identity he assumed to mitigate the risk of being targeted.
His evidence before the commission alleging suspended Ekurhuleni metro deputy police chief Julius Mkhwanazi had ordered the dumping of the body of a man killed during interrogation was borne out of a desire to speak truth to power.
Van der Merwe, like many other brave whistleblowers who faced the same fate for their courage to expose wrongdoing, was prepared to die for the truth.
His mother-in-law told Sowetan’s sister publication The Sunday Times that he knew that people were after him and he was prepared to die.
He appears to have known how calculating and manipulative those who have everything to lose can be to seek to cover up their heinous crimes.
But given the scale of corruption and lawlessness in this country, the pertinent question is how many more Van der Merwes must die before stronger protection is extended to whistleblowers and witnesses?
Corruption in our country has often responded to efforts to root it out by using assassinations to silence those brave enough to speak out.
That SA continues to be plagued by such murders is not only an indictment on our law enforcement but also a war being waged against accountability.
No number of statements condemning Van der Merwe’s and other whistleblowers’ murders can ever heal the depths of loss their families are going through.
They have been robbed by the cruel injustice of a society that has allowed the foundations of justice to be threatened by criminals.
With every whistleblower murdered in this country, it is becoming clear that those who want to fight corruption have little chance of survival because organised crime is now in control of the levers of power.
We must stand up now to demand real action or risk losing more good citizens to crime.
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