'Jurie Els is a blatant liar'
2008-03-04 09:24
Pretoria - "Jurie Els is blatantly lying about his obsession with the film Dirkie."
These were the words of Malcolm Lombard, freelance producer and composer in the music industry and an acquaintance of Els, about Els's statement in court documents in the Cape Town High Court that he "had never seen the film".
In the court documents Els requested that the editor and Gauteng editor of Huisgenoot and You and Media24 be found guilty of contempt of court. He also explained at length what his relationship was with Robbie Klay as a young singer.
Dirkie was produced by Jamie Uys in the seventies. His son, Wynand, then 12, played the leading part in the film which portrayed the boy Dirkie, whose plane crashed in a desert. He was the only survivor.
'He called me 7 times'
Most of the film covers the boy's experiences on his way back to civilisation. Lombard said Els called him in the mid 90s asking if he could organise to have Dirkie recorded on video.
"Afterwards he called me at least seven times to find out if I had managed to get the video."
"His precise words were: 'I'm crazy about the boy in Dirkie'. He added that he would be willing to pay almost anything to have the film on video.
"I couldn't help him, but in 2000 or 2001, I can't remember exactly when, I phoned Jurie to get certain record covers from him."
"He told me that he had been successful and that he now had Dirkie on video."
"If he is now saying that he doesn't know anything about Dirkie or Wynand Uys, it is a blatant lie and I'm willing to testify in any court about it."
Els's exact words in the court document are: "In the article (in Huisgenoot and You) it is alleged that I had an obsession with Wynand Uys. He allegedly played in the film Dirkie. I don't know who Wynand Uys is and I have never seen the film Dirkie. These allegations are false."
Herman Kannenberg, Els's attorney, said in reaction on Monday that neither he nor Els would comment.
"Jurie stands by what is said in the court documents."
Koos van Rensburg, Klay's legal advisor, said the case in Cape Town was between Els and Media24.
"We maintain our rights in connection with Els's statements about Dirkie," said Van Rensburg.