One of the Boeremag’s alleged leaders, Dr Lets Pretorius, smiled broadly and his wife burst into tears and hugged him after a Pretoria High Court judge granted him R500 000 bail on Wednesday.
Judge Anna-Marie de Vos found that Pretorius (57), a wealthy businessman and medical doctor in Potgietersrus, had proved that extraordinary circumstances existed which justified his release on bail.
However, the judge linked the granting of bail to very strict conditions.
Pretorius and three of his sons were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to violently overthrow the government. They have all pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from high treason to terrorism and murder.
Judge De Vos said it was not often that the most important members of a family found themselves in jail under such circumstances.
She said it was unlikely that Pretorius would be able to evade the police inside South Africa as his supporters were already known to the police and stood to be prosecuted after the trial.
Pretorius’s unique relationship with three sons and his wife — a cancer and depression sufferer, as well as his attitude towards what he described as his nation and fatherland — would keep him inside the country. She could hardly think that he was the kind of person who would leave the country, the judge said.
Support for the 22 accused seemed to have lessened and there was presently little interest in the trial. It was unlikely that Pretorius’s release would result in problems within the community.
There was also evidence that he helped to calm racial tensions in jail.
Several of Pretorius’s co-accused had already been released on jail and there was no evidence that they had continued with or revived a conspiracy to overthrow the government, she added.
The judge said it was clear that the state no longer regarded Pretorius as such a high security risk, as he had been moved from C-Max prison to Pretoria local prison not as a result of a court order, but because of a decision by the state.
She also took into account Pretorius’s deteriorating health and financial situation. It was clear that he had attempted to keep his businesses going after his arrest, but it was understandable that his businesses — in which two of his sons had played an important role — would deteriorate.
De Vos stressed the circumstances of Pretorius’s wife, Minnie, whose physical and mental health had deteriorated as a result of the incarceration of her husband and three sons. His release would undoubtedly improve her circumstances.
She also pointed out that Pretorius had distanced himself from the alleged coup plot and especially any violence in order to attain the goals of such a plot. She said it was unlikely that he would have been a military leader in the Boeremag and he would most probably have been in control of medical support.
Application for withdrawal of advocates
Meanwhile, the prosecution in the Boeremag treason trial is to launch an urgent application next week for the withdrawal of two of the defence advocates.
Bert Bam, SC, representing the state, told trial Judge Eben Jordaan he had instructions to launch an urgent application for the recusal of advocates Harry Prinsloo and Louisa van der Walt, who represent three of the 22 Boeremag treason accused.
He said the application was still being finalised and would be served on the two advocates early next week so that they could reply.
The court was earlier told of allegations that there might be irregularities in the trial as the two advocates had represented the next state witness, Lourens du Plessis, in a bail application and had consulted with him.
Du Plessis was an accused in the case before he turned state witness.
Prosecution leader Paul Fick said the application would be brought before another court, as there were facts that should not be placed before the trial judge.
Two of the defence advocates earlier expressed concern that the application could not only affect the rest of the trial, but had the potential of affecting the regularity of the proceedings as a whole.
In a further startling claim, counsel for the Boeremag’s alleged military commander, Tom Vorster, on Wednesday claimed his client’s wife had been ”improperly approached” by the police and paid R2 500 to gather information for them.
Advocate Danie Kotze told the court he had the cash in his possession ”and did not know what to do with it”, as they had been unsuccessful in returning the money to the police.
He said his client felt that he was being intimidated and victimised.
Advocate Piet Pistorius, who represents several of the accused, told the court his clients were in the process of drawing up an application against the Legal Aid Board after Judge Ben du Plessis turned down their bid to secure increased fees for their legal representatives.
The trial will continue on April 2. — Sapa