‘No sign of foul play in death of Willem Kruger’ – AfriForum

Lobby group AfriForum has revealed that there was no foul play in the death of Limpopo farmer Willem Kruger.

Kruger, a 29-year-old farmer from Grobersdal, Limpopo went missing on the evening of a friend’s bachelor party at a lodge near Morgenzon, Mpumalanga on 13 November 2022

Nine days later, his body was found inside his bakkie in the Vaal River.

Willem’s father, Tian, approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecutions Unit for help in February to investigate the circumstances surrounding his son’s death.

Evidence

AfriForum spokesperson Barry Bateman said Private Prosecution Unit met with the Kruger family in Pretoria on Wednesday 12 April, to reveal its analysis of the evidence and affidavits gathered so far.

“After a careful study of the circumstances surrounding the death of Willem Kruger, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit believes that on the available evidence, allegations of foul play are unsupported.”

“In a difficult and sometimes emotional meeting with the Kruger family, Advocate Gerrie Nel set out in detail the various findings, which included analysis of the data from the sport watch Willem was wearing; the GPS data from his vehicle tracker; cell phone tower data; post-mortem findings; and affidavits from several people in the area on the night,” Bateman said.

ALSO READ: Willem Kruger ‘possibly drowned’ – preliminary report

Further action

AfriForum has expressed its deepest condolences with the family.

“They had to endure more than five months of anguish and secondary trauma which has been fuelled by wild speculation about the cause of Willem’s untimely passing.

“From the outset, the unit made it clear that it would not be led by reports and media speculation and rely solely on the objective facts and corroborated evidence,” Bateman said.

“On instruction of the family the unit will now focus on the private investigators that abused the trauma and desperation of a family to enrich themselves. There are a few outstanding aspects of procedural nature that need to be included in the docket, as well as loose ends that will finalise the matter, and ready to be submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),” Bateman added.

Willem’s father Tian said they feel “comfortable that the investigation will continue even after an inquest.”

“As a family we remain concerned that the facts established from the available evidence suggested that Willem behaved in a manner which is uncharacteristic of him,” he said.

ALSO READ: Friend of Willem Kruger threatened with arrest