SA wants Namibia to extradite fugitive

2011-01-03 14:26

Johannesburg - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was preparing documents for the extradition of businessman Louis George Rademeyer who fled the country to avoid serving a prison sentence, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Rademeyer was arrested on New Year's eve while on holiday in Namibia.

"We are busy preparing the extradition application. It's quite a protracted process involving a number of roleplayers, so it's hard to give timelines," NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said.

"As soon as the papers are prepared, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (Menzi Simelane) will sign them off and send them to the department of justice."

Rademeyer is believed to have fled to the United States in 2006 and returned to Namibia for a visit during the festive season.

Arrest

The Hawks received information on his whereabouts and notified Interpol and Rademeyer was arrested and locked up in Namibia.

Rademeyer, who was a respected businessman in Kuruman, in the Northern Cape, was among eight people convicted on charges of public violence and culpable homicide in 2004.

They were sentenced to five years for public violence and another five years for culpable homicide.

They appealed the sentence, but lost the appeal, and were expected to start serving their sentences in 2006. Rademeyer fled the country just six days before reporting for prison, the Hawks said.

The case against Rademeyer started in 1995 when members of the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) marched in Kuruman.

A group of white citizens of the town decided to hold their own march, resulting in clashes with Samwu members.

The clashes ended in the death of a Samwu member.

- SAPA