The Brakpan Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to a former member of the Special Task Force (STF) within the South African Police Service (Saps), Matipandile Sotheni.
Sotheni returned to the court on Monday to continue with his bail application. The case is connected with the murder of Marius van der Merwe, also known as “Witness D”.
Van der Merwe was shot dead at his home in Brakpan on 5 December 2025. His wife and two children survived the shooting.
Sotheni faces 16 charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, ammunition-related offences, and theft.
Sotheni a ‘family man’
He previously cited his family responsibilities to argue for his release on bail. He said his family would continue to suffer in his absence.
The accused also argued that the state’s case against him was “weak”, saying it had not demonstrated sufficient grounds to keep him in custody.
Last week, his legal representative, Nthabiseng Mohumane, cited several cases, including Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe’s, to argue for her client’s release on bail.
In October last year, Molefe was released on bail after winning his appeal in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, following the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court’s denial of bail on 20 August.
He was granted bail of R400 000 in connection with the murders of popular musician and club owner DJ Sumbody – whose real name was Oupa Sefoka – and his two bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sandile Myeza, in Woodmead, Gauteng.
During this time, Molefe was already out on R100 000 bail granted by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which had overturned an earlier magistrate’s court ruling that denied him release. This case is related to the killing of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
Sotheni’s legal representative cited this case as a precedent that must be taken into consideration in his bail application. If Molefe could avail himself for court proceedings after his release on bail, Sotheni could, too, she argued.
The defence further argued that the state had split the charges into several to give the court the impression that Sotheni is “dangerous”, when he is not.
State ‘has a strong case’
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 argued that if Sotheni were released on bail, he would interfere with witnesses. They accused Sotheni of being privy to information not in the public domain, which proves he was still in touch with his former colleagues.
