OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Thursday 10.00am.
THE Tuesday night arrest of fugitive and heist artist Collin Chauke has captured the public imagination and dominated the Thursday morning press.
Chauke’s lawyer alleged that his client was assaulted and has head wounds but Nelspruit police have denied this. They say that he may have hurt himself while lying face down on a gravel road during the arrest.
Photos of Chauke in the Thursday morning press showed him looking quite healthy and beaming from the window of the vehicle transporting him from his court appearance. Two small abrasions were visible above his right eye.
In court, his trial for armed robbery was postponed to June 1, while his trial for escaping custody was postponed until August 17.
It is clear that some of those attending his court appearance, mostly schoolgirls, believe Chauke is a hero.
He is now in custody at C-Max, the ultra-high security prison in Pretoria reserved for escaped prisoners and the likes of apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock.
The woman who harboured Chauke in the Nelspruit townhouse where he was arrested remains in custody, having been unable to afford R1000 bail. Her name is Dudu Buhle Nkosi and is believed to be a Swazi citizen.
Her reported boasting of her relationship with Chauke may have hastened his arrest.