Johann Burmeister here with his wife Denise
and Advocate Bruwer after winning his case
On July 24 2014, Johann Burmeister
defeated the controversial case of
theft (of a laptop) that was brought against him by
the Knysna SAPS.
It’s more than just a win.
It’s an insight into the failure of
police procedure and the
abuse of power that is suppose
to protect the public. It’s confirmation of conspiracy.
On being found not guilty by Magistrate Derek Torlage, tears of relief
and joy beautified the faces of both Johann and Denise, his wife who won the
hearts of the public as she fought in newspapers and online to clear her
husband’s name. There were tears of anger too.
Day one of the trial was blogged in 3 parts starting here. This is what happened on days two and
three…
The situation smelt from the beginning because the facts available did not add up.
Once all the facts were available, in court, they didn’t add up either.
The 3 days of court drama carried every human emotion, from on-the-edge-of-your-seat
expectation and anger (at witnesses trapping themselves in lies) to frustrating
boredom as the the same witnesses seemed to mutter inanities such as “I dunno”
(when they should know) a thousand times. Most importantly, there was overwhelming
happiness and justifiable self-righteousness at the end.
Day 2 of the trial had Warrant Officer Christopher Appels in the dock
first. His shift had followed after Sergeant Maurice Grootboom’s and thus he’d
signed for the evidence and property. Like Grootboom, he also claimed that
Burmeister had the laptop. He then signed everything over to SAP13 clerk,
Sergeant Carmen Coetzee who would later claim the same. So did her superior
(and also SAP13 clerk) Warrant Officer Abraham Coetzer. Their superior, Captain
Patrick Gogwana, followed suite.
Advocate Eduard Bruwer expressed the view of all in the public
gallery when he stated that “something smelt rotten” about this case. He
emphasised it later with a quote from Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state
of Denmark.”
Who do the public turn to when the police are
committing the crime?
The State’s ‘witnesses’ felt rehearsed; badly rehearsed but rehearsed nonetheless. They
all, with the exceptional exception of Captain Michelle Lesch, stated that
ex-Warrant Officer Johann Burmeister was trustworthy and honest… and used that
as their defense why they failed to follow their “standing orders”, the rules
and regulations governing their conduct and action.
At the heart of the matter was the definition of “outstanding”, a term
used on the register to denote property that had not being disposed of e.g.
destroyed or returned to its owner. Advocate Bruwer proved unequivocally that
it meant not disposed of but still in the possession of the police. At one
point he even stated that “it was too coincidental that Appel’s interpretation
matched Coetzee’s”. Captain Lesch, their superior, in detail, confirmed that
Bruwer understanding of the word was correct.
The biggest condemnation of five of the witnesses is that they had, at
some point, whether in receipt or audit, signed that the laptop was in their
possession. Gaining that admittance was a difficult task for Advocate Bruwer
who was forced to nauseatingly repeat questions so many times that it’s
unlikely onlookers will ever forget them. The witnesses dug themselves a hole
that they should be prosecuted for.
It was a liar’s parade that had onlookers comparing tell-tale signs they
noticed such as facial ticks, hand wrenching, looking away and, especially, the
constant lowering of voices to inaudibility as their sentences trapped them.
Magistrate Derek Torlage’s voice may have sounded emotionless but his
words weren’t. In his judgement he stated that all of the witnesses, with the
exception of Captain Lesch, had admitted to either fraud or perjury.
How much has this frivolous case of falsehoods cost the taxpayer? Beyond
the case itself, how man police hours were abused and wasted the past 8 months.
Arguably, there was a conspiracy i.e. a bunch of cops broke the rules
and supported a clearly false case against Johann Burmeister whilst the
evidence pointed at others.
It’s uncomfortable add-on facts that senior police from the George
Cluster, under which Knysna falls, were involved to some degree, whether by
action or association i.e.
1. Colonel Marnewick is the boyfriend of Sergeant Carmen Coetzee, the
officer who was far more qualified to be a suspect
2. Colonel Jeffrey Matiwani ordered the case be opened against
Burmeister
3. Colonel Derek Daniels, Head of CIF (Criminal Intelligence) appeared
in court, allegedly illegally recording proceedings and strangely interacting
with Coetzee in the corridor outside. Witnesses said that he seemed like he was
coaching her. She stated that he was only a colleague and that he had asked to
hug her and she’d given permission. Does that sound like a colleague?
Sergeant Sergeant Coetzee seemed to be getting special treatment. She
was left as the last witness and, even then, Prosecuto Thibedi oddly stated,
without reason, that it wouldn’t be fair if the case continued as there wasn’t
enough time left. Essentially, he was asking for another court date which would
take months to get, this despite the fact that she was coming from out of town
and had sat on a hard bench outside the court room for 3 days. Despite the fact
that it was only 11.33am. Bruwer immediately counter-attacked by promising
Magistrate Torlage that he would finish with Coetzee the same day. He kept his
word despite Thibedi, for the first time, questioning her slowly and at length.
This was noticeable as he’d likely spent less than 5 minutes on each witness so
far. Even the magistrate had spoken longer. Thibedi was out of his trench hole
and Bruwer was a bomber. It must be asked why Thibedi gave this case sufficient
merit for it to be prosecuted when it was obvious it had none? Was he ordered
to?
After Sergeant Coetzee had finished testifying, admitting to two lies
within the first 5 minutes, even Thibedi was forced to admit to Magistrate
Torlage that he had no case.
The most blatant missing witness was Colonel Matiwane who, in his own
testimony in the internal disciplinary hearing, had stated that he’d made the
decision to open the case against Burmeister. Although he should have been a
star witness for Prosecutor Thibedi, he wasn’t called. Bruwer never called any
witnesses as he believed, as was proven, that he’d won the case without them.
The biggest impact, beyond Burmeister’s involvement, is that rules and
procedure (i.e. the standing orders) are not valued or adhered to in the Knysna
SAPS station, from the lowest to the highest rank. The registeries are not treated as gospel
and events are not being recorded in the Occurrence Book (OB) which is supposed
to be the police station’s ultimate diary. Particularly, in this case, Sergeant
Carmen Coetzee and her superior, Warrant Officer Abrahams Coetzer, must be
investigated. Not only is the missing laptop in question but what happened with
a R16 000 gold armband too. These disturbing situations will give weight to
rumours that cops are selling stolen goods in Knysna.
This case is going to keep tongues wagging and reinforce the public’s
distrust in the police. The hope of many is that this will force an investigation
into the running of the station, with subsequent punishment and leadership
replacement returning justice to the streets of Knysna. However, there are even
more who believe that this telling event will be whitewashed.
