Police will go after those who helped two accused Boeremag members evade capture, National Commissioner Jackie Selebi said on Saturday.
He attended the short court appearance of Rudi Gouws (29) and Herman van Rooyen (33), who escaped from custody in May last year. They were re-arrested at a townhouse complex in Lyttleton, Pretoria, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Asked if he was happy to see the two — who face charges including murder, attempted murder, treason, terrorism, sabotage and others relating to arms and explosives offences — behind bars, Selebi said it was self-evident.
”I don’t attend court cases on Saturday; I don’t even attend them on weekdays, but I’m here today,” he said.
Gouws and Van Rooyen, dressed in rugby shorts and T-shirts, had lost weight but still resembled photographs of them released by police shortly after their escape from the Pretoria High Court last year.
Although in court only for minutes, no less than 10 police vehicles escorted the pair to court. There were also several police officers armed with automatic rifles keeping watch inside and outside the courtroom.
Pretoria Regional Court magistrate President Willem Pruis asked their lawyer, advocate Piet Pistorius, to confirm their identities, which he did.
State advocate Suzanne Auret then asked that the case be postponed to January 29, in the Pretoria High Court. Gouws and Van Rooyen would then appear with their 20 co-accused in the so-called Boeremag treason trial.
She also asked that they be kept in the maximum-security C-Max facility in Pretoria Central Prison.
The case was postponed, but not before Van Rooyen requested through Pistorius that they be returned to the C-Max section where their co-accused were being held.
The state said it would forward the request to prison authorities, but it was up to them to decide where the two would be held.
Paul Kruger, instructing attorney for the two men, said afterwards his clients seemed to be in good spirits. ”We are just glad that this incident took its course with no one being injured seriously,” he said.
Police spokesperson director Sally de Beer said earlier in a statement: ”Van Rooyen and Gouws were surprised at 3.20am this morning when the special task force stormed the duplex in Lyttleton. Although the two made an attempt to resist, they were quickly overpowered by police.”
The pair were armed with fully automatic rifles, with rounds in the breach, she said. They would face additional charges of escaping from lawful custody and illegal possession of firearms. — Sapa