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AfriForum Spokesperson Barry Bateman.
AfriForum Private Prosecution Unit’s Barry Bateman has criticised the slow pace of prosecution in the Emmanuel Mbense murder case, calling it a catastrophic failure.
His remarks follow the death of former police reservist, Wiandre Pretorius who committed suicide on Saturday at a filling station in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni.
Pretorius was implicated in Mbense’s murder by Witness D, Marius van der Merwe.
Police have confirmed that he was a person of interest in the recent murder of Van der Merwe, as well as the 2022 murder of Emmanuel Mbense.
Bateman says a third of implicated people are dead in the Mbense case.
“We know that IPID had this affidavit, since then four people are dead. We’ve got Mr Van der Merwe who was murdered last year where there is Jakob Hanekom who was murdered early in 2020 and now we have learned from the SAPS that another person part of 12 people of interest in the murder of Mr Mbense that was murdered in October last year. This would have been after Van der Merwe was testifying or thereafter before his murder now Wiandre Pretorius who has taken his own life. So this is a catastrophic failure by the state to ensure that a matter is brought before court in good time and to ensure that a matter is persecuted.”
Related Video | Pretorius was a person of interest in murder of Witness D: Police:
