How Mike van Wyk’s Madlanga Commission absence shifted focus to security, mining friction
A mining boss with previous ties to the Guptas. Private security. An attempted hit. All were focal points that emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week, which tie in and provide a better understanding of South Africa’s policing crisis. When Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s business associate, Mike van Wyk, did not appear as a […] The post How Mike van Wyk’s Madlanga Commission absence shifted focus to security, mining friction appeared first on The Namibian .
A mining boss with previous ties to the Guptas. Private security. An attempted hit. All were focal points that emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week, which tie in and provide a better understanding of South Africa’s policing crisis.
When Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s business associate, Mike van Wyk, did not appear as a witness before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week, it seemed the public would be left in the dark about how he fits in to it all.
Instead, his absence illuminated avenues that the commission has not yet explored, including what appears to have been an attempted hit on a logistics company manager.
The commission also heard for the first time on Monday, 22 June 2026, that Van Wyk had previously been involved with mining boss George van der Merwe, once the general manager at the Optimum Coal Mine.
Van Der Merwe was not accused of any wrongdoing or criminality during the proceedings, and it is unclear if the commission will approach him for information.
Mention of his name, though, has brought into focus friction in South Africa’s mining sector that overlaps with private security.
Van Wyk was to have testified before the Madlanga Commission last Monday, but it emerged that he was medically unfit to do so after undergoing panic attacks.
Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson SC, however, proceeded with reading through relevant documents and messages, to which Van Wyk will have an opportunity to respond.
