Johannesburg – Police sergeant Juan Mare Eksteen, the fiancée of the late Wiandre Pretorius, has been suspended, according to National Police Commissioner Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, pending representations from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
Pretorius, a 41-year-old police informant, died in an apparent self-inflicted incident at a Brakpan petrol station on 7 February 2026 following a reported dispute with Eksteen.
“We are told that there was an argument between him and his wife before he pulled the trigger on himself. We are still investigating what they could have been arguing about,” The Citizen quoted Mathe as saying.
Police Sergeant Juan-Mare Eksteen is facing suspension.
Her partner, Wiandre Pretorius, took his own life at the weekend. He shot himself in front of Eksteen in the forecourt of a filing station in Brakpan.
Both Pretorius and Eksteen have been implicated in the 2022 murder of a… pic.twitter.com/RBvy5Sx6q6
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) February 9, 2026
Authorities are investigating the circumstances and have secured CCTV footage.
Pretorius had previously been implicated in serious criminal allegations during testimony at the Madlanga Commission, including links to the murder of Emmanuel Mbhense and being a key person of interest in the killing of witness Marius van der Merwe.
Police confirmed that Pretorius had been questioned, and his firearms and cellphones were seized as part of ongoing investigations.
Ipid has completed its probe into Mbhense’s death, with the case docket now with the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions.
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compiled by Betha Madhomu
