Steveno van Rhyn says he was tortured by cops
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
The State was left with egg on its face after Judge Nathan Erasmus slated it for ‘sloppy’ evidence gathering.
On Thursday, the State called Captain Philip Seekoei from the Western Cape Crime and Investigation Services.
His core function is as a Detective Court Case Officer (DCCO) at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
Seekoei was called to the stand after he completed the alleged confession made by Steveno van Rhyn.
Judge Nathan Erasmus did not mince his words.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
The court is currently in a trial within a trial as van Rhyn and Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis claimed to have been assaulted and tortured by police on March 4 and 5, 2024.
Earlier in the day, Colonel Eddie Clark testified that he started to take the alleged confession of van Rhyn. Van Rhyn complained that he was hungry and needed to take medication, and this resulted in the interview being terminated.
However, before the documentation was handed up, van Rhyn’s lawyer, Nobuhle Mkabayi objected to the documents being called a confession.
“This is not a confession. It is not tantamount, and I expected the court to make a ruling whether this is a confession,” she submitted.
While Mkabayi did not have any objections to the document being handed up, Judge Nathan Erasmus asked for the documents to be referred to as a statement until he ruled otherwise.
Video footage of van Rhyn giving his statement was played in court. However, an adjournment was made due to technical difficulties.
The State received a slashing for its ill-preparedness.
When everything was fixed up, the sound remained inaudible to the public.
During the interview, van Rhyn seemed calm, and relaxed. He could be seen smiling, despite previous testimony that he was made to make a ‘confession’ under duress.
Judge Erasmus also stated he wanted to view the footage because claims of van Rhyn being assaulted had been made. As van Rhyn sat in the interview, his wrists were visible and any bruising would be able to be seen by the court.
At this time, van Rhyn, who always looked rather nonchalant in court sat up with a stern look on his face watching the footage.
Judge Erasmus again called for the footage to be paused after he discovered that the statement did not have all the wording coming from the accused.
“There is wording missing from the document, I thought when doing something like that [statement] it would be recorded verbatim. This is such an important case. We are dealing with a child that went missing,” he said.
Advocate Swanepoel said it was the best evidence they got, and Judge Erasmus responded:
“As sloppy as this is, carry on…”
The gallery could not get much of the audio, and only snippets were heard.
The State also said they footage of a ‘pointing out’, that will also be played in court.
As the footage continued to play. Judge Erasmus stated that as of now, this did not seem like a confession; it could be an accessory after the fact.
“Why was I not told this document is no reflection of what is happening here (video)?” Judge Erasmus questioned.
The trial continues on Friday.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL