The police have agreed in principle they are responsible for frauds committed by convicted murderer Michael Bellingan, reports Stefaans Brummer
This week’s murder conviction of security police captain Michael Bellingan has strengthened the quest of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) for compensation for police dirty tricks
Agreement has already been reached in principle between Numsa and Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi to compensate the union for the theft of union funds by Bellingan and other members of the security police. Numsa is claiming at least R1,5-million.
Judge T Cloete found that Bellingan (37) was motivated to kill his wife on the night of September 20 1991 when she threatened to expose how he defrauded Numsa.
Evidence was that Janine Bellingan had gathered documentation which proved her husband had diverted money destined for Numsa — and had shown a friend a false identification card in the name of N Umsa. The photograph on the ID card showed Bellingan’s face darkened to appear black.
The court found there had been “obvious fraud” against Numsa and that Bellingan had deposited cheques posted to the trade union in a Nedbank account opened in the name of N Umsa.
The judgment reinforces Numsa contentions that the union was the target of a security police “stratcom” — a “strategic communication” or covert propaganda project — to weaken trade unions in the 1980s and possibly the early 1980s.
The union contends that cheques posted to Numsa headquarters in Johannesburg had regularly been diverted from post offices by “Bellingan and others while working for the SA Police”, lawyer Greg Nott, whose firm represents Numsa, said this week.
He said Mufamadi and police commissioner George Fivaz had agreed in principle at a meeting on Monday last week to compensate the union, but that the amount was still a matter of contention.
Numsa has previously mentioned an amount of R1,5- million, but Nott said Numsa would possibly “look at
While Numsa may still have some way to go to achieve justice, Tuesday’s judgment concluded a three-year struggle of Janine Bellingan’s family to see justice done. They had been at the forefront of efforts to have Bellingan charged after police had, within days of the murder, warned him he was the prime suspect.