Pretoria – The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry confirmed on Thursday that it was informed of an alleged attempted hit on Wiandre Pretorius, a SAPS informer named in prior testimony by murdered whistleblower Marius van der Merwe (Witness D).
Pretorius escaped unharmed after his bakkie came under fire from three gunmen (possibly in a white Toyota Vitz) along Klapper Street (number 13) in Van Dyk Park, Boksburg, shortly before 10am—described by police as a shooting incident with unknown motive under investigation.
“Yes, we got the news about an hour ago, and it had not happened too long before that. We are concerned about the safety of all witnesses and potential witnesses,” the commission’s spokesperson Jeremy Michaels told Newzroom Afrika on Thursday.
A frantic WhatsApp voice note from Pretorius circulated, pleading for help: “Guys, number 13 Klapper Street, Van Dyk Park – come and assist me here… They shot my bakkie…I don’t know if it’s a hit or something. I managed to get out.”
Pretorius, under investigation with others for a 2024 body-dumping murder in Brakpan (docket now with the National Director of Public Prosecutions), hadn’t sought commission protection.
[WATCH]
The scene is still active where there was an attempted hit on the life of Wiandre Pretorius. Sixteen bullets were shot at his car as he arrived here from a garage. Pretorius was named by the assassinated Witness D, Marius Van Der Merwe, at the Madlanga Commission.… pic.twitter.com/CyYRtDn0ym
— Chriselda Zozi Lewis (Babes Wendaba) (@Chriseldalewis) February 5, 2026
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels voiced concerns for all witnesses’ safety amid its probe into law-enforcement corruption and networks, intensified by Van der Merwe’s killing and this attack.
The attempted hit was outside the house of Wiandre Pretorious.
Interestingly, the same MO was used when Witness D was gunned down. https://t.co/zHVoGf5H6e pic.twitter.com/PqnnG2cviH
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) February 5, 2026
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Picture: X/@Chriseldalewis
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
