Klinkenberg person of interest: Bail application hearing for unlicensed firearms in full
Defence calls State's case "weak".
The Krugersdorp Magistrates’ Court’s gallery was almost filled with supporters of Theuns Grobler, who appeared before Magistrate Kevin Page for a bail application hearing after being arrested for possession of firearms.
Also read: Man arrested for illegal firearms also person of interest in Klinkenberg case
The State and the Defence agreed that it was a Schedule 5 offence, but had different reasons for categorising the crime as such. Grobler’s Defence, lawyer Rudi Krause, read out Grobler’s statement, in which he pleaded not guilty. According to Grobler, he came into possession of the firearms in 2007 as collateral for an unpaid loan made to their owner. He claimed that since he did not have a safe, he asked his father to keep the weapons, and according to Grobler, they got a permit to do so. On 31 March, the permit expired. Grobler then handed the firearms over to the investigating officer, detective Captain Booysen, who is also investigating the Klinkenberg murder case, in which Grobler is a person of interest. The Defence claimed that although Grobler co-operated fully with Booysen throughout the five-month investigation, Booysen maliciously lured Grobler – under false pretences – to his office and arrested him without a warrant.
Also read: Klinkenberg murder person of interest charged for illegal firearms identified
The Defence went on to challenge Booysen to explain his link with controversial private investigator Mike Bolhuis, referring to a lengthy post that mentioned Grobler on the Facebook page of Bolhuis’ company, Specialised Security Services. In the seven-page document, Bolhuis delves into Grobler’s personal life, his past, his previous convictions, and his alleged modus operandi in detail, and appeals to the public to contact Booysen or himself if they can supply more information on Grobler. Bolhuis also claims that he is assisting the Police with their investigation into Grobler. The defence wanted to know whether Booysen had given Bolhuis the information he had posted and said that making details such as the addresses of Grobler’s properties public put Grobler’s family in danger. The Defence claimed that Booysen had ulterior motives because he was also investigating the Klinkenberg murder and had used the unlicensed firearms as a pretext to arrest Grobler.
The Defence argued that Grobler should be released on bail, because he is not a flight risk – he has emotional, social and occupational connections within the jurisdiction of the court. In addition, Grobler has property and runs a business with his wife, Louise, that employs more than a hundred persons. He also has a 17-year-old daughter. Furthermore, Grobler was willing to hand in his passport. Grobler also admitted to two previous convictions, one for assault and one for possession of stolen property and said he was convicted “about 10 years ago” in the Krugersdorp Magistrates’ Court. (The State would later use this to say Grobler was not honest about his convictions because he was in fact convicted eight years ago in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court).
Also Read: Update: Grobler granted bail
The State then read Booysen’s affidavit to the court. According to Booysen, he has received death threats since Grobler’s arrest, and calls from the public asking him if it was a good idea to arrest Grobler since Grobler was “well-connected in the Police and would go around bragging about it”. According to the State, this indicated that Grobler would be a threat should he be released on bail. Booysen also said the original owner of the firearms feared Grobler. He furthermore claimed that Grobler was not a registered taxpayer and that Grobler had told them he was unemployed, contradicting his statement in which he’d said he and his wife each earned approximately R30 000 a month. Referring to his many properties, luxury vehicles and the R600 000 he allegedly paid off on a property in Cape Town, Booysen said this showed he had the means to flee the country. Later on, Grobler told Magistrate Page he knew nothing about the R600 000.
Although Grobler said his father had obtained a permit to take the firearms into his possession, Booysen disputed the validity of the permit on the grounds that the officer who allegedly granted it had made an affidavit stating that although the signature on the permit was hers, the handwriting was not. The permit also did not comply with other important regulations – it had no physical address on it, there was no photo attached to prove the holder had a safe, and no copies of IDs or gun licences were attached. The officer said she would not have granted permission for Grobler’s father to take the firearms into his possession if all these requirements had not been met. The State said the permit was “manufactured and defective” and that Grobler was attempting to defeat the ends of justice. “This showed he would go to great lengths to undermine the justice system,” said Booysen in his affidavit.
The Defence then got its chance to reply to the State. After arguing every claim the State had made, Krause said he “doubts the State will successfully prosecute”. He attacked claims that Grobler was involved in any threats and said the State could not provide proof of this. He also asked why Grobler did not just destroy the firearms instead of co-operating with the police and handing them over.
In its reply, the State brought up the defective permit again, as well as Grobler’s alleged means to flee the country, but in his ruling Magistrate Page said the Defence had convinced the court that Grobler was not a flight risk. Page granted Grobler bail, and set it at R10 000. His conditions were that Grobler must appear in court again on 19 October, that he reports to the Hekpoort Police Station twice a week, that he make no direct or indirect threats to Booysen or anyone else and that he hands in all travel documents such as his passport.
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