With a wail of sirens, three of the Waterkloof Four were driven away from the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday afternoon to begin their 12-year sentence for murder and assault.
Wearing track suits and carrying backpacks, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt walked out of the building quietly, making no comment to the reporters watching from afar.
They got into a police car and, with a blast of a siren, were driven through the streets of Pretoria, to prison.
Earlier on Monday, prosecutor Johan Kruger said warrants for their arrest were issued after they had failed to report for prison by the stipulated time of 9am.
They were sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in January last year for murdering an unknown man and assaulting another in a park in 2001 while they were at school.
All four maintained their innocence throughout their lengthy trial and unsuccessful high court appeal that followed.
The Supreme Court of Appeal last week also turned down their appeal against their convictions and sentences.
The last of the Waterkloof Four, Christoff Becker, is expected to hand himself in to start his prison sentence on Tuesday, but in the meantime forfeits his bail for not arriving as expected on Monday, Kruger said.
”He will be here tomorrow. He forfeited his bail of R10Â 000,” Kruger said.
Becker was also supposed to be present on Monday, but has until Tuesday to hand himself in or he will be arrested. He applied unsuccessfully on Monday for an extension of his bail, with his lawyer saying he intended challenging the matter in the Constitutional Court. — Sapa