Two accused in the Boeremag treason trial went missing on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
”During the lunch recess, two accused went missing,” said Director Sally de Beer, national police spokesperson.
Herman van Rooyen (33) and Rudi Gouws (28), both from Bela Bela in Limpopo, went missing during the recess in their treason trial.
”We have launched a massive search to track down these two, and are investigating the circumstance under which they went missing,” De Beer said.
Van Rooyen was caught in Pretoria in December 2002 in a bakkie rigged with 384kg of explosives and two bags of nuts and bolts for shrapnel. At the time it was speculated that the car bomb was meant for a soccer game between Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld.
Van Rooyen was believed to have access to a R40-million inheritance and to be bankrolling the Boeremag’s activities. The evening before Van Rooyen’s arrest, Gouws was caught when he was lured into a police trap in Pretoria.
A series of bomb explosions in October 2002 that killed one person formed part of the Boeremag’s bid to create chaos and pave the way for a violent right-wing coup.
The 22 Boeremag accused denied guilt three years ago on 42 charges, including high treason, terrorism, sabotage, murder, attempted murder, causing explosions and the illegal possession of explosives, firearms and ammunition.
Self-confessed Boer bomber Deon Crous testified in October 2004 that the explosions were planned with military precision while he and other members of the Boeremag were already on the run from police.
He told the court how he and five of the accused — Van Rooyen, Gouws and the Pretorius brothers Johan, Kobus and Wilhelm — read from the Bible and prayed before leaving on their bombing mission late in October 2002. They even named the 10 bombs after their wives and girlfriends.
Crous said one group planted bombs at a bridge and railway line in Soweto and the other at a railway line, mosque and a taxi rank. They fled to KwaZulu-Natal after the bombings.
He said they were glad when they heard the bombs had exploded and regarded the death of a woman in the process as her ”paying for her sins”.
Crous said the group afterwards hid at the farms and houses of supporters and manufactured more explosives with fertiliser supplied by one of its supporters.
He said Van Rooyen was adamant that they should continue making explosives. Crous later heard that Van Rooyen had been involved in bomb explosions at Grand Central airport and a bridge at Port Edward.
They also talked about using car bombs and once discussed making shrapnel bombs ”to put in shopping centres and on the streets”.
Crous was on his way to Marabastad in Pretoria — allegedly with a massive car bomb — when he was arrested.
The trial was postponed several times due to problems with legal aid board payments, lawyers and matters such as the accused complaining of loud music in prison.
At one stage the accused threatened urgent legal action when Correctional Services informed them they were to be put in communal cells while their single cells were being renovated at Pretoria Local Prison.
They were eventually moved to a closed-off section at C-Max after negotiations with the department.
In 2004 a woman due to visit Van Rooyen was caught trying to smuggle five pre-paid telephone cards and a personal letter to him.
The trial was adjourned until Thursday, when it will be decided whether to proceed without the two men.– Sapa