Night of passion

2003-06-26 23:33

Erika Gibson

Pretoria - A young sergeant told a friend that a night of sex with a female major in Kinshasa was "good" and that "he enjoyed himself".

Before this night in a communal tent, which the sergeant shared with several other colleagues, everybody was aware that the two were involved in a relationship that was becoming more serious by the day.

Afterwards, sergeant Eddie van Meyeren was "filled with remorse because he had been unfaithful to his wife. He felt guilty because he had failed his wife and children."

This was the testimony of sergeant Rauymond Wilkinson, an airfreight handler and friend of Van Meyeren, at the trial of Major Ria Vivier, an information officer, and corporal Neil Sanna, a personnel clerk, on Thursday.

The two are facing 13 charges including behaviour to the detriment of military discipline, rowdy or unfitting behaviour, assault, public indecency, the use of threatening language and insubordination.

Vivier allegedly had sexual relationships with Van Meyeren and Sanna - both married men - while they were serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the South African contingent in that country.

Vivier denies having sex with Van Meyeren. Her legal representative, Joe Msiza, claims Van Meyeren was "trying to get back at her" after Vivier rejected his advances.

Wilkinson said the alleged relationships between Vivier and the two men were the talk of the town.

The discipline in the South African camp "was zero" after this, while the image of the entire contingent was negatively affected.

He said conflict broke out between Van Meyeren and Sanna at a later stage because Sanna spoke to Vivier "the way one would shout at a dog".

"This was unacceptable to all of us. She was, after all, a major and he (Sanna) a corporal - one does not treat any woman this way."

He said Vivier did Sanna's washing and cooked for him.

While the details of her alleged escapades unfolded in court on Thursday, Vivier dropped her head in her hands and started crying.

Msiza said she would deny having relationships with both men at the same time.

Wilkinson said she made no secret of her relationship with Van Meyeren.

"They regularly hugged each other in front of other people and lay in bed together. Their relationship wasn't a one-night stand. It developed over more than a month."

He said Vivier's behaviour as a senior officer was not at all what one would expect of "an ambassador" for South Africa.

"In a foreign country, you cannot let the image of your country and defence force go to trash."

Jaco Dorfling, who handled the contingent's finances, testified that Vivier was sleeping with her head on Sanna's shoulder on a United Nations flight in the DRC. They also held hands.

"One of the cabin crew, who used to be in the defence force, asked me whether we tolerated this type of behaviour in our defence force."

Sanna and Vivier were in uniform at the time. Dorfling said he also used to be a uniformed officer.

"I was taught that no soldier in uniform should hold hands in public - I would not even have touched my wife's hand."

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- Beeld