Decade-old treason trial finally over

Legalbrief reports that Judge Eben Jordaan said Mandela would have been killed by a landmine planted by the Boeremag bomb squad if he had not arrived by helicopter to open a school in Bolobedu, Limpopo. This would have caused chaos and bloodshed in the country. He said the organisation's aim had been to destroy democracy in the country. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, Boeremag leader Tom Vorster and other members of its bomb squad that blew up numerous targets in 2002 were sentenced to an effective 25 years' imprisonment by the North Gauteng High Court. Bombers Herman van Rooyen, Johan and Wilhelm Pretorius, and Rudi Gouws received the same sentences as Vorster. The third Pretorius brother, master bomb maker Kobus Pretorius, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, of which 10 years were suspended. This was because Pretorius had a change of heart during the trial and expressed remorse for what he did. The members of the bomb squad were sentenced to an additional 13 years imprisonment on charges of culpable homicide and conspiring to murder Mandela. One of the Boeremag's most active members and the Boeremag chaplain, Vis Visagie (74), was sentenced to five years of correctional supervision. Five of the Boeremag members who played a lesser role, including the youngest member Jacques Jordaan, walked out of the court free men after being given suspended sentences. They are Adriaan van Wyk and former Defence Force officers Giel Burger, Jacques Olivier and Pieter van Deventer. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Eleven years after the first Boeremag member was arrested for high treason, only one of the 23 men has changed his beliefs, according to a report in The Times. It notes Judge Eben Jordaan said that, when one of their number, Kobus Pretorius - brother of co-accused Johan and Wilhelm - turned against the group he was ostracised not only by the group but by his family. 'He first broke with his parents because of their religion and ideology, and then he broke with the Boeremag, so he was completely alone, on his own,' Sonia Jordaan, who has been his spiritual counsellor for the past four years, is quoted in the report as saying. Kobus must serve nine years in jail. He was sentenced to 30 years, of which 10 years were suspended, minus the time he has served while awaiting trial. Advocate Paul Kruger, acting for Pieter van Deventer, Fritz Naudé and Koos Visagie, said all the accused still believed in their cause, with the sole exception of Kobus Pretorius, the report states. 'You have to realise that people who take this type of action are people with extremely strong views and it is extremely rare that a person who has such strong feelings about a cause will make a 180-degree turnaround in his life and start to think or believe something else.' Full report in The Times

The court also ruled that the Boeremag members sentenced for high treason will not get back the assets seized from them by the police, notes a report on the News24 site. Judge Eben Jordaan granted an order declaring the Boeremag assets, ranging from firearms to vehicles, laptops and GPS devices, forfeited to the state as the proceeds of crime. The assets include a large number of firearms and ammunition, an ambulance, truck, bakkie, Mercedes-Benz sedan, a trailer, laptops and GPS devices. Full report on the News24 site

One of the Boeremag medical doctors jailed for high treason told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday that he believed he would die in jail because he was a white political prisoner. A report on the News24 site notes that Dr Lets Pretorius was giving evidence in an application for bail pending an application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence of 30 years' imprisonment, 10 of them suspended. 'A sentence of 20 years is actually a death sentence for me. I am 67-years-old and will be 87 when I've served 20 years. By that time, chances are good that neither I nor my wife will still be alive. I know it can be argued that I was convicted of violent crimes, but I'm a political prisoner and I'm also white.' Pretorius, who was out on bail for nine years before being sentenced, testified that he had always adhered to his bail conditions and had no plans to flee. Full report on the News24 site