A key figure connected to a high-profile South African police corruption investigation has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Brakpan petrol station. Wiandre Pretorius, 41, previously identified as a person of interest in the Madlanga Commission’s probe into police misconduct, was found deceased late Saturday with a firearm beside his body.
The circumstances surrounding Pretorius’s death are under intense scrutiny as it represents the fourth fatality among twelve individuals initially named in connection with the 2022 murder of witness Emmanuel Mbense. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed authorities are examining CCTV footage to reconstruct events leading to the incident, including reports of a prior altercation between Pretorius and his fiancée at the location.
This development occurs within the broader context of the judicial commission established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of organized crime infiltration within government structures. The probe gained momentum following testimony from Marius van der Merwe (previously identified as Witness D), who claimed Pretorius participated in disposing Mbense’s body after alleged torture and killing by police officers. Van der Merwe was himself assassinated just three weeks after providing this testimony.
Mathe revealed Pretorius had recently undergone questioning and firearm confiscation related to Van der Merwe’s homicide. With three other persons of interest previously eliminated in what authorities describe as ‘execution-style’ killings, investigators are actively exploring whether these deaths represent internal syndicate violence connected to the Mbense case.
The incident follows Pretorius’s own report of an attempted assassination last week when his vehicle came under gunfire. Meanwhile, Mathe indicated that arrests in the Mbense murder investigation are ‘imminent’ based on findings from independent police oversight authorities.