Would-be bombers took 'Blood River' oath

2003-01-17 21:04

Bloemfontein - A vow before God, similar to the one taken at the battle of Blood River almost two centuries ago, was to be taken seven times before three rightwingers blew up of the Vaal Dam, the Bloemfontein Regional Court heard on Friday.

Accused Alan Rautenbach (21) testified that he and his co-accused were to take the vow for the last time on the day after their arrest in March 2002 on a guest farm near Parys in the northern Free State.

After the seventh taking of the vow, it was to be in force.

They took the vow for the first time behind a chicken pen on a smallholding outside Bloemfontein, six days before their arrest. This was while they were on their way from their hometown Murraysburg in the Eastern Cape to Parys, where "the operation" (of blowing up the Vaal Dam) was to be concluded.

Present at the taking of the vow were Rautenbach, his two co-accused, Leon Peacock and Hercules Viljoen, and two men who later turned out to be police informants, Rautenbach told the court.

Rautenbach, Peacock and Viljoen are all facing sabotage charges.

Police found a written copy of this vow, titled "Oath of the Warrior", on a computer disc in the three men's possession when they were arrested.

Similar to the Blood River covenant dating from December 9, 1838, it starts with the words: 'Here we stand today before You, Almighty Father ..."

The "Oath" continues, saying that the Boer people were still in debt to God according to the covenant of 1838 that was taken before the battle on the banks of the Ncome River on December 16.

"Our hearts bleed for our Brothers, Sisters and their children. Therefore we must strengthen our hearts and undertake to act on their behalf.

The oath declares "solemnly" that the takers will establish a "household" for God if he should give "the Boer people" victory in the coming "battle".

Rautenbach, whose highest academic qualification is grade 10, also testified on Friday that he admired the man whom he took to be the leader of the "operation". This man, who later turned out to be a police-informant and who may not be identified, told Rautenbach that he had served in the former 32 Battalion of the former South African National Defence Force.

Rautenbach said he was very impressed by this man's stories at night around a bar about how he had fought against 'terrorists' in Angola (under the apartheid regime).

Rautenbach said especially admired this man after he gave him a combat knife he said to have used while serving in 32 Battalion as an interrogator of apprehended "terrorists".

The man showed him how to use this knife to cut someone's throat, Rautenbach testified.

The man also trained him to be his "spotter" in their planned operation of blowing up the dam. According to this training, he was to walk closely behind this ex-soldier during the "operation", move in front of him in the event of "contact", and then shoot the "targets" the ex-soldier had missed, Rautenbach told the court.

He said that he would never have contemplated blowing up the Vaal Dam if it was not for the leading role the ex-soldier had played. Rautenbach said he followed him because he believed in the "authority of older people".

State advocate Danie Pretorius told Rautenbach that it seemed as if his two co-accused had "put him on the altar". Rautenbach agreed that Peacock might have "used" him.

It was earlier testified that Peacock converted Rautenbach from Satanism to Christianity after driving his devils out. Rautenbach lived with the Peacock family and was like a son to Leon Peacock, the court was told.

Peacock and Viljoen earlier testified that it was not their real intention to blow up the dam. They only played along with the plot because they wanted to persuade their two comrades, who both later turned out to be police-informants, that it was not the proper thing to do.

Magistrate WH du Plessis postponed the trial until February 7 for closing arguments.

- SAPA