Questions linger over Fritz Joubert allegedly killing suspects when he was a cop – report

The past of the man hoping to become a sangoma in his 40s has continued to disturb SA.

Fritz Joubert as he appeared in a self-filmed video clip.

The late Fritz Joubert has reportedly faced question marks about why there were “too many deaths” of people in his custody in his younger years when he worked as a policeman.

He was fired as a cop when he was just 21 in 1995, DispatchLIVE has reported.

They have also reported that his questionable background and mental state led to his arrest this year in a separate criminal case in Bloemfontein. He was out on bail on a robbery charge.

The East London-based paper reported on Thursday that Joubert was “deeply troubled” and had worked in Boksburg and Bloemfontein for the police in his youth.

He was then discharged from the SA Police, allegedly because of suspicions that too many suspects were dying in his custody. It was not outright alleged that he had murdered any of them, but numerous people who claim to have known the man said this week that they considered him violent and dangerous.

He was reportedly meant to stand trial for a case of robbery with aggravating circumstances in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court next year in January after he “allegedly pointed a gun at two police officers outside a KFC outlet in Bloemfontein before driving off with their car keys in February”, reports the Dispatch.

He had pleaded not guilty and had appeared three times this year after his arrest in April.

Joubert is believed to have bludgeoned traditional healer Anele Hoyana to death with the butt of a rifle following an argument, with parts of the incident filmed by Joubert and another person, in clips that have since been widely circulated and gone viral, causing shock and outrage. Hoyana had apparently been training Joubert to become a sangoma.

He is also believed to have taken Hoyana’s two small children hostage, but they were later rescued by police.

Joubert was shot in an apparent act of self-defence by a police officer after he tried to take the officer’s firearm.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is investigating Joubert’s killing, while the SA Police Service (SAPS) is investigating Hoyana’s.

The so-called Gonubie farm owned by Joubert has been taken over by the EFF.

The party now wants to convert the property into a preschool, according to Eastern Cape Buffalo City EFF chairperson Mziyanda Hlekiso.

Hlekiso told The Sowetan they invaded the property due to what they see as the racially motivated nature of the crime.

It was, however, reported this week that Agri Eastern Cape objected to those who have referred to Joubert as a farmer.

Eastern Cape Agri SA president Doug Stern said Joubert had been an Eskom sub-contractor who lived on a small lifestyle property, a smallholding, and was not “a farmer or member of any organised agricultural organisation”.

“The man was clearly deranged and, from information received, the actions of the SAPS members who attended the scene were clearly justified,” said Stern.

“To refer to him as a farmer, to fuel anger towards the farming community, is irresponsible and undermines the efforts of real farmers to build an inclusive, safe, non-racial sector.”

In an interview on SABC on Tuesday, Anele’s brother Olwethu Hoyana spoke on behalf of the family, saying: “We do not want to push a narrative of racism.”

Olwethu said: “What we do know from the neighbourhood is that he was an aggressive individual … we do get reports that he was an aggressive individual, even to other white people.”