/ 1 January 2002

Alleged rightwinger arrested in Postmasburg

Postmasburg farm worker linked to a plot to overthrow the government was arrested in the Northern Cape town on Thursday, police said.

Senior Superintendent Martin Aylward, representative for the Crime Intelligence and Detective Services, said the man (31) was arrested on the Postmasburg farm around 3pm on Thursday.

His arrest followed months of information gathered by detectives from the unit.

Aylward said police seized a stun grenade, about 2 500 rounds of ammunition of an R1 rifle, a homemade gun, two 20mm ground to air rounds of ammunition, during the man’s arrest.

A solar panel, a generator, 200g of dagga, an Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging uniform and SA National Defence Force apparel were some of the items confiscated during the arrest.

He said the man would face charges of theft, possession of explosives, contravention of the Weapons and Ammunition Act and possession of dagga. He is expected to appear in court soon, Aylward said.

The man is alleged to be part of a ”maverick, isolated group intending to destabilise the country”.

On Monday, ten men accused of plotting to overthrow the government were set down for trial in the Pretoria High Court in February next year.

The trial date was set for three weeks, starting February 17 2003, during the accused’s brief appearance in the Pretoria Regional Court.

Michael Teshart du Toit (43) his brother, Andre Tibert du Toit, (32) Jacobus du Plessis (43) Pieter Ignatius Lourens Du Plessis (38) Colonel Machiel Adriaan Burger (47) Johan Herman Scheepers (48) Adriaan Jacobus van Wyk (37) Major Jacques Olivier (32) Major Pieter Gabriel van Deventer (38) and Johannes Dion van den Heever (32) are expected to appear in the Pretoria Regional Court again on October 14, when a formal charge sheet will be presented.

The accused are facing charges of treason and terrorism.

Burger, Van den Heever, Van Deventer and Olivier were granted bail of R10 000 each on Friday.

Legal representatives for the Du Toit brothers and Jacobus du Plessis, who are scheduled to bring a new bail application based on new facts on Monday, said the bail application would be brought at a later stage as they were not ready to proceed.

Lourens du Plessis, Van Wyk and Scheepers were expected to appeal their earlier denial of bail in the coming days, their legal representatives said. – Sapa