Rudi Gouws appeared tough throughout the Boeremag trial. But on Tuesday, tears shimmered in the bomber’s eyes upon hearing he was sentenced to an effective 25 years in jail. With muscles bulging from exercising in jail for the past decade and sporting leg irons following his second escape attempt, he was pale as he hugged his family before returning to jail where the man he had followed like a shadow, Herman van Rooyen, waited to hear his fate.
Van Rooyen gets anxiety attacks travelling in a police armoured vehicle and was not in court. Gouws, was not the only Boeremag member in shock after Pretoria High Court Judge Eben Jordaan’s sentencing.
There were gasps from the crowded public gallery as the sentences were read out. Loud sobs broke out from relatives as one by one their loved ones were sentenced to lengthy jail terms. Dr Lets Pretorius, who minutes earlier had said he was not nervous and would face whatever came his way, stood for several minutes at the top of the stairs leading to the holding cells, before going down to start serving his effective 20-year sentence.
His wife Minnie started crying at the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, but broke down and sobbed upon hearing her husband and three sons would not be coming home for a very long time. While her son Kobus will also serve an effective 20 years, her two other sons, Johan and Wilhelm, will have to remain behind bars for another 25 years.
Her sons had already been behind bars for more than a decade while on trial. She was too distraught to speak to the media and was shielded from flashing cameras by friends and family. Andre du Toit, who has also been in custody, took a R100 note from his pocket and handed it to a family member to give to his daughter who was just three months old when he was arrested. He will spend another 10 years behind bars.
All in all, the majority of the men who 12 years ago planned to overthrow the ANC government by violent means, appeared stunned by their sentences. Boeremag leader Tom Vorster, one of the masterminds behind the coup plot, said he received more than he thought he would. Judge Jordaan said he had seriously considered sentencing the ringleaders to life, but took into account the time they had already spent awaiting trial in jail.
One of the lucky ones, who received a suspended sentence, Giel Burger, had walked into court on Tuesday with his bag packed with clothes, ready for jail. “I actually expected 25 years,” he said. Ester du Toit, estranged wife of Mike du Toit, was in tears. She said she had no idea what she was going to tell their daughter. “How do you tell your child her dad is now gone for another 25 years and that she must grow up without a father?” Sonja Jordaan, the woman who accepted Kobus Pretorius as her son after he broke away from his family, said the sentence was harsher than they expected.
“I will not say it is inappropriate in light of the terrible things they did. But we will stand by Kobus and wait for his return home.” Advocate Piet Pistorius, who represented a number of accused, said on Friday they will bring an application for the release of Dr Pretorius on bail pending a possible application for leave to appeal.
“We will study the judgment and then decide on the way forward for the other men,” he said. The end of the Boeremag trial was a relief for the leader of the prosecution team, Advocate Paul Fick. “To me it was (a fair trial) and they got what they deserved. I am just happy the trial has come to an end after more than 10 years. “I have put in long hours of preparation and I often had to neglect my family. I am just happy it is now over.” Fick said apart from all the work, he also had to endure threats made on his life during the trial. He did not elaborate on this, but said it was often difficult to deal with. This will in all probability be Fick’s last trial as he is retiring in January.
Read the original article on Front Nasionaal SA
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