Former Bela-Bela farmer Deon Crous told the Boeremag treason trial on Wednesday how he was brought in to drive rented cars — in which bombs were to be planted — from Johannesburg International airport.
Crous said he had helped to reload a large number of 9mm rounds, obtained extra magazines for his commando-issue R4 rifle and had built petrol bombs on the instructions of the accused Herman van Rooyen.
Crous said he had a discussion with Van Rooyen’s brother Alan and one Blackie Swart about the rented cars.
Swart told him a large organisation, funded from overseas, was arranging ”to plant bombs and such things” in South Africa in September 2002.
”Alan said we were going to place ‘filers’ [bombs] in the cars. Blackie said he would be second in command and Herman van Rooyen would be the head of the Defence Force when we took control of the country,” he testified.
Crous told the court in detail how he was sworn in with his hand on the Bible as a member of the organisation.
He also had to repeat the 1838 Blood River oath and a new Boeremag oath, and was told by Herman van Rooyen he would be brought before a court and condemned to death if he ever betrayed the cause.
Crous later realised what he had let himself in for and that there was no turning back.
About a week after being sworn in, Crous, the accused Rudi Gouws and Alan van Rooyen did a reconnaissance, using a global positioning device, at an ammunition depot near Vaalwater in Limpopo.
They had to find out how many guards there were, how alert the guards were and what type of fence surrounded the depot.
The information was to be passed on to Herman van Rooyen.
Crous said he was also aware that reconnaissance was later done in the Rand and Pretoria and that Alan van Rooyen had been part of a group that reconnoitred at the JSE Securities Exchange building in Johannesburg.
Crous had also attended a meeting at Herman van Rooyen’s farm, where they were warned against using cellphones, because the police might trace them.
The accused Vis Visagie told Crous the ”purging of the nation” referred to in the Boer oath he took actually meant that persons like former president FW de Klerk had to be eliminated.
Crous said he was at one stage issued with a so-called bulletproof battle jacket and three extra magazines for his R4 rifle.
The accused Rudi Gouws also told him to pack enough food for 24 hours into his battle jacket.
Gouws testified that he had helped Alan van Rooyen to reload about 1 300 9mm rounds over three weeks with material supplied by Herman van Rooyen.
This and other ammunition was to be kept at Van Rooyen’s farm to be issued ”when the problems came in the country”.
The purpose of the ammunition was to protect themselves in case of an attack and also to launch attacks and create chaos in the country.
He said Herman van Rooyen at one stage feared arrest and gave instructions that Crous and several other commando members must be ready to attack the commando office.
When nothing happened, Van Rooyen bought them each a beer.
The trial adjourned early to enable defence counsel to prepare documents for an urgent application by 14 of the accused to stop them being moved from single cells at Pretoria’s Local prison into communal cells. The court was told the accused receive death threats from fellow prisoners daily, and fear for their lives.
The trial continues. — Sapa