Trial Report: One

Dr. Wouter Basson appeared in court on Monday 4 October 1999 for the start of what is predicted to be a long and complicated trial. He is facing multiple charges of fraud, murder, conspiracy to murder and possession of drugs (ecstasy, mandrax and cocaine). Dr. Basson is represented by Jaap Cilliers and Tokkie Van Zyl, advocates at the Pretoria bar. Dr. Torie Pretorius and Anton Ackerman (SC) are prosecuting. The trial is presided over by Justice Hartzenberg.

The trial failed to get underway this week and Basson has not yet been asked to plead. The defence team has raised a number of objections to the charges. In the first instance the defence has argued that the charges relating to any activities in Namibia should be dropped on the basis that Basson qualifies for a general amnesty that was promulgated on 7 June 1989, on the eve of independence by the then South African Administrator General. The amnesty protects all South African police and military members from criminal prosecution related to any operational activity in Namibia before that date. The prosecution will put its arguments next week.

The defence has also objected to the conspiracy charges, arguing that it is virtually unprecedented for a person to be charged with conspiracy to murder when the murder took place in a country other than that in which he is standing trial. Once again this will be argued by the prosecution next week. It is worth noting however that there is a precedent in South Africa for this, set in the case against former policeman, Eugene De Kock. The defence has also raised objections to the bail application transcript being used in the trial. They have argued that an interrogation of Basson by the Office for Serious Economic Offences, conducted after his arrest in 1997 should not be admissible as evidence. It is unlikely that Basson will be asked to plead until the matter of the relevance of charges has been ruled on. It is expected that that may happen late next week.

Should the defence win its arguments on both the amnesty and the admissibility of the application hearing, the repercussions would be that the charge sheet would have to be revised and a much weaker set of charges will emerge. Should the bail application be ruled inadmissible, it will make the states case on the fraud charges far more difficult to argue and they will not have a basis on which to question the version of the accused. Meanwhile, two days before the start of the trial, Basson granted American film maker, Andrew Jones a three-hour interview. It is understood that Jones is negotiating with American television networks for the sale of the interview.

Centre for Conflict Resolution, UCT, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa Tel: (27) 21-4222512 Fax: (27) 21-4222622 Email: [email protected]