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File | Contralesa President Kgosi Mokoena addressing a CoGTA event in Mpumalanga.
Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) President Kgosi Mathupa Mokoena says the Department of Justice (DOJ) must come up with a plan to protect whistleblowers and witnesses after Marius van der Merwe was assassinated over the weekend.
Last month, Van der Merwe testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry about allegations of criminality and corruption in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
Mokoena says the killing of Van der Merwe will scare away potential whistleblowers, saying that the country is still shocked by the assassination of Witness D.
“This shocking incident will scare away witness and whistleblowers, and they might be reluctant to come and testify before the commission. Contralesa demands full proof be shown that indeed Mr. Van der Merwe did not take the offer to be protected. Contralesa demand that the Department of Justice to come up with a plan on how whistleblowers and witnesses will be protected from now on going forward,” says Mokeona.
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