Happy doesn't 'feature' as Jannie

2003-05-22 08:42

Liela Magnus and Marietie Louw

Pretoria - There's a 70% chance Happy Sindane is not Jannie Botha.

So says a Pretoria physiognomy expert, who can't be identified given the nature of the case.

Happy made an appearance at Bronkhorstpruit police station at the weekend after spending about 12 years of his life in KwaMahlanga north of Pretoria, among other places.

On Wednesday, the expert examined various photographs of Happy Sindane, Jannie Botha and the Botha family of Pretoria.

He said a number of Happy's features coincided with those of Sarie Botha, 45. But, there were too few likenesses between Happy and Jannie Botha.

"Jannie Botha's nose is not the same as Happy Sindane's."

He said one's nose did not change shape with age.

"Happy has a snub nose with a strong bridge, and you can see his nostrils. Jannie has a flat nose with a low bridge, and his nostrils aren't visible."

He said it was difficult to trace similarities because Jannie's photograph was indistinct and taken when he was very young. One's skull only stops growing at 18.

The contrasts are many

Their ears are similar and both have curly hair. He said people with protruding ears usually combed their hair over them. Jannie and Happy shared that habit.

He said Happy had a strongly developed skull with deep eye sockets and a well-developed jaw. Both his eyelids were visible.

In contrast, Jannie's eyes were surrounded by soft tissue and his upper eyelid rested entirely on the lower.

It appeared as though the shape of their eyebrows differed, too. But, the expert said it was hard to tell because Jannie's photographs were too indistinct.

He said Jannie had a square face and strong jaw for someone so young. Although Happy also had a strong jaw it presumably developed only later.

The photograph of the young Happy, which was found in Tweefontein, clearly showed he had a more-oval face than Jannie.

The expert said Happy would definitely tend toward Mrs Botha's side of the family if he turned out to be their son.

"They have the same shape lip and notch in the middle." Happy's chin and strong jaw are also like Mrs Botha's.

The expert said the lower half of one's face grew most to make room for permanent and wisdom teeth.

"We can only speculate how Jannie's face would change, which makes a pronouncement very difficult."

- Beeld