By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Brakpan Magistrate’s Court has denied a former member of the Special Task Force (STF) within the South African Police Service (Saps) Matipandile Sotheni bail.
Sotheni faces 16 charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder linked to the death of Marius van der Merwe, who testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry under the pseudonym “Witness D”.
He appeared in court on May 22, where he applied for bail, but the presiding officer reserved judgment until Monday, June 1.
Sotheni was arrested on March 14, 2026, in connection with the fatal shooting of Van der Merwe at his Brakpan home on December 5, 2025.
The state argued that, in his initial affidavit, Sotheni stated he had two children, only to say in his supplementary affidavit, read in court on Friday, that he had three children. The state further questioned his residential addresses, noting that his current lease is month-to-month.
State prosecutors told Court that if Sotheni were released on bail, he would interfere with witnesses. They further alleged that he was privy to information not in the public domain, which they said indicated he remained in contact with former colleagues.
Sotheni’s lawyer, Nthabiseng Mohamane, told the court that her client continued detention would place severe hardship on his family.
Mohamane said he supports his three minor children, his elderly parents and his late sister’s children, aged 24, 13 and 8.
The court heard that he currently shares a rented home and a child with his girlfriend and rejected the State’s suggestion that his wife and girlfriend could support themselves financially without his assistance.
She also denied her client being a flight risk, telling the court that he had already surrendered his passport to the investigating officer.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Magistrate Tlakale Sathekge found that Sotheni is likely to endanger the safety of witnesses or conceal and destroy evidence.
The court said he may evade trial if granted bail on the back of the State’s strong case and the length of imprisonment he faces if convicted.
Sathekge said that had Sotheni not taken the court into his confidence about his alleged personal circumstances and had failed to establish exceptional circumstances justifying his release.
The accused will remain behind bars after failing to proof to the court why his release would be in the interests of justice and his case was postponed to July 30, 2026 for further investigations.