Overview
- The bail hearing for Matipandile Sotheni continued on May 22, 2026, when his defence filed an affidavit saying vehicle-tracking data places him two streets from the Brakpan scene and therefore not at the killing of Marius van der Merwe on 5 December 2025.
- Sotheni faces 16 charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, ammunition offences, and theft.
- The State says Sotheni had links to former police reservist Wiandre Pretorius and argues Pretorius solicited Sotheni after van der Merwe implicated Pretorius at the Madlanga Commission; prosecutors say Pretorius allegedly shot himself at a Brakpan petrol station in February 2026.
- Prosecutors told the court that Sotheni appears to have knowledge of non-public docket details and that releasing him would risk interference with witnesses, while the defence says the State’s case is weak, points to inconsistencies in the record, and cites the Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe bail precedent.
- The magistrate has not yet ruled on bail and the outcome will shape immediate safety and confidence concerns for witnesses in the Madlanga Commission inquiry as the matter moves toward trial.