Boeremag: Judgment day near

2004-07-20 15:51

Pretoria - Judgment in the bail application of four of the Boeremag treason trialists will be delivered in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.

Mokopane medical doctor Johan Pretorius jun and Bela-Bela farmers Gerhardus "Oom Vis" Visagie, Rudi Gouws and Herman Van Rooyen have applied for bail for the first time.

The four and Pretorius's two brothers were on the run from police for several months before being arrested.

The State alleges they were responsible for a spate of bombings in Soweto, Bronkhorstspruit and KwaZulu-Natal. A woman died as a result of one of the explosions.

Prosecutor Dries van Rensburg said on Tuesday there was evidence the four had also taken part in the aborted Operation Popeye - a radical plan which would have served as a trigger to create chaos in the country and take over the government.

He said there was evidence the group had continued making explosives and was responsible for 10 explosions in Soweto. This was after Popeye was called off and several Boeremag members were arrested.

According to a State witness, Van Rooyen had expressed satisfaction on hearing that a woman had died in one of the explosions, saying it proved the bombs worked.

After the Johannesburg bombings, the rampage continued and there was evidence the group was also involved in explosions at a Buddhist temple in Bronkhorstspruit, Lanseria airport and a bridge in KwaZulu-Natal.

"How this can be reconciled with the behaviour of persons who claim they absconded because they feared police brutality, I cannot understand. The applicants literally vanished off the face of the earth while the bombings continued.

"The Boeremag is without a doubt a fanatical, extremist rightwing organisation with no tolerance for people of other races and religions in this country.

"The applicants undoubtedly have fanatical politically motivated ideals and that's why they continued with the bombings. When they were arrested, police confiscated 910kg of explosives. Four more bombs had been destined to explode in Johannesburg and Pretoria," Van Rensburg said.

He argued that the accused clearly did not acknowledge the legality of the government or the court and pointed out that all of them had taken an oath that they would never surrender.

"If given the opportunity, they will without a doubt abscond and most probably continue planning and executing crimes of violence," he said.

Piet Pistorius, appearing for the four accused, argued that the court was not there to determine the accused's guilt, but to determine if they would attend their trial.

He said the State had not proved that they would flee or interfere with the State's case. All of the accused had much to lose and had testified that they were determined to prove their innocence.

He stressed the poor mental and physical condition of Visagie, who at 65 was the oldest of the 22 trialists, and might not live to the end of the trial if he was not released on bail.

- SAPA