CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape High Court on Wednesday postponed the case against murder accused Henri van Breda until May 2 when the first police officer who arrived on the crime scene will be cross-examined.

Sergeant Adrian Kleynhans gave his evidence-in-chief on Monday and told the court he had arrived at the high security De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch at about 7am on January 27, 2015.

He testified that Henri van Breda was not crying when he arrived, but seemed emotional. He said the house did not look like it had been burgled as in his experience it would look “deurmekaar” (all over the place). Laptops, a handbag with cash in it, and televisions were untouched.

Van Breda has been accused of killing his parents, and older brother with an axe. He is also accused of attempted murder – his sister, Marli, who was sixteen years old at the time, survived, but suffered a serious brain injury and has retrograde amnesia. Van Breda also faces a charge of defeating the ends of justice.

On Monday, in his plea explanation, he claimed that a “laughing” axe-wielding intruder was behind the killings, that there was more than one attacker, and that they spoke Afrikaans.

He also believed the one that he confronted, and “easily disarmed” was a Black man who was wearing a balaclava.

On Wednesday, the minutes of an inspection-in-loco the day before, were handed in to the court.

Defence lawyer Pieter Botha started court proceedings by asking the judge to warn the media about reporting accurately, and accused an Afrikaans newspaper of publishing an inaccurate sketch of the inside of the family home.

READ: ‘I smelled alcohol on his breath’ – first officer on Van Breda murder scene

The inspection-in-loco was attended by media, but journalists were not allowed inside the house.

Botha pointed out to the court that the house had no burglar bars, and a person could easily climb through the window.

He also said blood drops had been found on the boundary wall of 13 Goske street, next door to the Van Breda family home.

He further pointed out that posts at the gate of the estate could be scaled: “One could climb the fence and jump over by putting a foot on the padlock, grabbing onto the concrete pillar, and jumping over”.

Judge Siraj Desai countered: “Its hazardous and extremely difficult”.

The estate is surrounded by electric fences and has security guards. Cameras were also installed in January, 2015. State prosecutor Susan Galloway said the security management would be testifying, and Botha’s point could be argued at a later stage.

The case was adjourned to Tuesday.

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African News Agency

Kimberley – Kumba Iron Ore representatives are expected to enter into mediation talks with the Dingleton community this week in a bid to resolve a dispute over land in the area.

Kumba wants to relocate the entire town of Dingleton in the Northern Cape to a town 25km away, GroundUp reported.

Only 25 families remain and are refusing to move on Kumba’s terms.

“We are hoping the mediation will assist us in the interpretation of the International Finance Corporate Guidelines. These are the guidelines that Kumba must comply to,” said Richard Spoor, an attorney representing some Dingleton residents.

Kumba has denied this claim.

Kumba says the residents disrupted the process of rehabilitation of a site near a railway where blue asbestos was spilled years ago. The company needs to rehabilitate the site in order to expand its Sishen iron ore mine near Dingleton.
 
Spoor told GroundUp that a court case that was lodged against Dingleton residents in February by Kumba was ongoing. He said the matter “was likely” to be resolved soon.

Kumba is demanding over R1.6m from residents who refused to relocate. The mining company says residents are “disrupting the process of rehabilitating” the site near the railway where blue asbestos was spilled.

“The case will be stayed [meaning further legal procedures will halt] pending the outcome of the mediation process,” said Spoor.

“The conditions in Dingleton are intolerable,” said Spoor. “We’d like to reach an agreement of terms of the resettlement of residents.”

He said the mediation would be facilitated by human rights attorney Brian Currin. 

JOHANNESBURG – Judge Siraj Desai is expected to lead a convoy to the scene of the Van Breda axe murders in Stellenbosch on Tuesday.

It is day two of Henri van Breda’s trial for the murder of his parents and brother.

READ: ‘I smelled alcohol on his breath’ – first officer on Van Breda murder scene

He faces charges of murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice.

Van Breda’s parents, Martin and Teresa van Breda, and brother, Rudi, were hacked to death in January 2015.

His sister, Marli, sustained serious head injuries but survived the attack.

On Monday, Van Breda, 22, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

eNCA

Cape Town – A man is missing after he launched his grey rubber duck from Pearly Beach in the Overberg, Western Cape, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Sunday.

The man, 31, had gone out with a single 115 horse power motor around 15:00 on Saturday but had not been seen since, said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.

He did not arrive at Dyer Island as expected and had not returned to Pearly Beach.

Lambinon sad they launched an operation to plot search patterns, taking into account, weather, wind and sea currents.

Various crafts covered a large search area in progressively worsening sea conditions, with heavy swells and strong winds increasing to 60 knots.

“Ships in the area and passing through the area will remain on alert and police will continue with investigations and treat the matter as a missing person,” he said.