Johnathan Paoli
Gauteng police are investigating an apparent assassination attempt on law enforcement officer Vianre Pretorius, implicated in criminal conduct at the Madlanga Commission, after he was allegedly targeted in Boksburg on Wednesday.
Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni was travelling to the scene to be briefed, according to the information available at the time of publication.
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Details of the incident were still being verified, including the motive and whether Pretorius was wounded.
Pretorius was named in testimony delivered last year at the commission by the protected witness known as “Witness D”, identified later as Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe testified about the aftermath of the alleged extrajudicial killing of Emmanuel Mbhense, claiming the incident involved members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD). He alleged that Pretorius, who was present, suggested calling a senior crime intelligence figure to intervene.
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“He said we should contact General Feroz Khan to sort the matter out,” Van der Merwe told the commission.
Van der Merwe was assassinated in December.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi is expected to provide an official update once investigators and senior officers have been briefed.
This is a developing story.
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