Boeremag: Cops making up lies
2004-07-19 18:05
Pretoria - The animosity between the prosecution and alleged Boeremag coup plotters on Monday again reached boiling point when four of the men accused the chief investigating officer of "generating false statements".
This latest skirmish came after the state on Friday last week handed up a statement by Pretoria Local prisoner Wouter Viljoen, who said he had overheard two of the men presently applying for bail discussing how they would derail the trial or even flee the country if they were granted bail.
The state opposes bail applications by four of the accused - Mokopane medical doctor Johan Pretorius jun and farmers Gerhardus "Vis" Visagie, Herman van Rooyen and Rudi Gouws.
Viljoen said in his statement he had by chance overheard Van Rooyen and Gouws saying they had no intention of attending their trial, and would avoid attendance with doctors' certificates. If the trial went against them, they would flee the country.
On Monday, the four bail seekers retaliated by handing in two statements from fellow prisoners accusing Viljoen of making up lies to get time off from his prison sentence and of investigating officer Superintendent Tollie Vreugdenburg generating false statements.
Pretoria Local Prison inmate Roy Lochner said in a statement Vreugdenburg had earlier this month approached him and asked him to make a statement to the effect that he was aware of a plan by Boeremag members to overpower the police and escape from custody during a civil application in the High Court.
Lied 'for money'
Lochner said Vreugdenburg had told him he wanted to stop the Boeremag accused from gaining their freedom at all costs as they were a danger to society. The investigating officer also said Viljoen had already made a statement that would be used in the bail application.
According to Lochner, he had confronted Viljoen and asked him why he had told "such lies", whereupon Viljoen rubbed his fingers together and said, "for money, my friend, for money".
Vreugdenburg's version of events was that Lochner had told him during an interview that one of the accused, Tom Vorster, had asked him to be joined as an applicant in a civil application against Correctional Services about the conditions in jail.
According to what Lochner had told him, Vorster said he and Van Rooyen planned to overpower the police and escape when they were at court for the application.
"Lochner said he would only give a statement if I arranged for him to benefit in the criminal cases pending against him. To my question as to what benefits he expected, his answer was that I had to organize that his cases were withdrawn or that he should get bail," Vreugdenburg said.
'Had nothing to do with coup plot'
He said Lochner refused to make any statement after being informed that he could not expect any benefits and should make a statement about what he knew because it was his civil duty.
Final argument in the bail applications will be presented on Tuesday.
The four accused claimed they had nothing to do with an alleged coup plot, or a spate of bombings which followed during the almost three months while they were on the run from police.
All of them complained bitterly that they were unable to prepare properly for their trial because of adverse conditions in jail. The 65-year-old Visagie said his physical and mental health was deteriorating rapidly in jail.
All of them said they had fled from police because they feared being tortured or even killed. Visagie described his time on the run as the most stupid thing he had ever done and said he never wanted to go through that again.
The treason trial of the 22 Boeremag accused is to resume on Monday next week. They are facing 43 charges ranging from treason to terrorism, murder, sabotage and attempted murder.
- SAPA