By Karen Breytenbach
A man awaiting trial in Pollsmoor prison who claimed that he witnessed the murder of Stellenbosch student Inge Lotz, is being investigated for obstructing and defeating the ends of justice for allegedly trying to mislead the police.
Lotz's boyfriend Fred van der Vyver was acquitted of the murder in 2007.
During the trial it emerged that Werner Carolus, a member of a "tik gang", had confessed to the police that he had burgled Lotz's flat and witnessed his friends killing her.
The police later said they had concluded that his story was flawed and that he had "ulterior motives". He is awaiting trial for burglary.
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Police spokesperson Billy Jones said a docket concerning Carolus's claims was registered in Stellenbosch last week. Judge Deon van Zyl said he expected the police to lay charges of obstructing and defeating the ends of justice after the trial ended.
Daryl Els and Christiaan Botha, private investigators from the Eastern Cape who were briefly hired by the Van der Vyver family before the trial began, had at the end of last year decided to continue investigating Carolus "for the sake of justice".
Els interviewed Carolus in prison and obtained a "confession" and identification of all those allegedly involved.
Botha said he had forwarded their findings to national Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi's office and to the Independent Complaints Directorate last month.
"We're now hoping Selebi will investigate (our findings)," Botha said.
Niel van Heerden, a director of George Fivaz and Associates, who laid complaints of defeating the ends of justice, perjury and withholding of information against three police officers involved in the Lotz case, was arrested on New Year's Eve concerning his role in the city "Spygate" saga.
He makes his second appearance in the Mossel Bay magistrate's court today on charges of perjury, fraud or forgery in another case and contravening the Commissioner of Oath Act.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on January 08, 2008
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