Johannesburg - Radovan Krejcir’s former mistress Marissa Christopher was forced to air the Czech fugitive’s dirty laundry during her bail application on Wednesday, describing their broken romance as a complicated, torn relationship.
Christopher was arrested on Saturday while she and the pair’s two-year-old daughter visited Krejcir at Zonderwater prison in Pretoria. The State has argued that Christopher, 37, was going to facilitate payments to prison officials and a group of rifle-wielding gunmen to storm the prison and allow Krejcir to escape.
However, while the plot was initially planned to take place in March, an undercover police unit, where officers posed as the guns-for-hire, foiled the escape plan. Five suspects, including Christopher, have been arrested.
On Wednesday, Christopher’s lawyer, Piet du Plessis, put his client on the stand in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court, opening Christopher up to personal questions about her five-year relationship with Krejcir.
The pair started dating in 2010, and she gave birth to his child in 2014, several months after his initial 2013 arrest. While she had continued to visit him during his incarceration, she was detained at the prison last year for questioning by the SAPS.
The lead investigator had informed her that her brother's ex-girlfriend had also been having a sexual relationship with Krejcir and may have been assisting in smuggling contraband into the prison. After this revelation, her relationship with the Czech deteriorated. They broke up around April.
But prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba was unconvinced that Christopher no longer had feelings for Krejcir, arguing that she would probably do anything to help him escape.
He said the reason for their supposed break-up was to allow herself to publicly distance herself from him and the escape plot, which was planned at around the same time.
Christopher admitted that she had taken phone calls from Krejcir in the past few weeks. However, she denied any involvement in the plot.
Du Plessis insisted his client should receive bail as the State’s case was weak, with no real evidence that she was the one facilitating payments for the plot. He also said she did not pose a flight risk.
However, Gcaba had earlier submitted an affidavit from investigating officer Captain Walter Mabuti that said multiple sources had linked Christopher to the crime.
Bail judgment will be given on August 4.