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A view of the scene in Brakpan where Wiandre Pretorius shot himself.
Police have confirmed that they are investigating whether members of a criminal syndicate implicated in the 2022 murder of Emmanuel Mbhense are assassinating each other.
This follows the killing of three of the twelve suspects in apparent hits.
Mbhense was allegedly tortured and killed by members of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) before his body was dumped in a dam.
The details were revealed this morning, hours after former police reservist Wiandre Pretorius took his own life at a filling station in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg.
Pretorius, who was also a person of interest in the Mbhense murder case, survived an attempt on his life outside a house in Boksburg on Thursday.
Police also confirmed that he was a person of interest in the murder of Marius van der Merwe, known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says, “The question is, are we dealing with a syndicate that is eliminating each other in relation to the Emmanuel Mbhense murder? So, that is what our detectives are probing. Are we dealing with the syndicate that is eliminating each other in terms of their role and involvement in the murder of Emmanuel Mbhense? So, that is an aspect that we are looking at.”
Video | Police brief media following Pretorius’ alleged suicide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAPAaru0eb0
Meanwhile, crime expert and specialist investigator, Mike Bolhuis, says there are a number of possibilities that could have led to Pretorius taking his own life, including the mounting pressure of police investigations into his alleged involvement in criminal cases.
Bolhuis says further investigations will reveal the exact reason as to why Pretorius took his own life.
“It could be that he had personal problems and just decided to kill himself. Suicide is on the rise and people do commit suicide due to serious concerns. It could be because of the stress and pressure of investigations against him and his implication in cases regarding the Madlanga Commission and it could also be that this is too much after the shooting and he decided that he does not want to live anymore and he committed suicide,” says Bolhius.
Video | Pretorius was a person of interest in murder of Witness D: Police
