Johannesburg - Sitting outside a Palm Ridge courtroom on Tuesday, George Louca wept as he talked to his brother in Cyprus on a borrowed cellphone.
Lolly Jackson’s alleged killer has become a pale shadow of his former self, having lost more than 35kg since being diagnosed with terminal stage four lung cancer.
Barely able to speak because of the new growth slowly expanding in his windpipe, he wiped away tears as he caught up with his relative.
A letter produced in court from a leading oncologist at the Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Joburg said Louca had between one and three months left to live.
On Tuesday, a Section 49E application lodged by the director of the prison in which Louca is currently being held was heard in the High Court in Palm Ridge.
Similar to medical parole, the application before the court is for it to release an awaiting-trial prisoner if he is not receiving adequate treatment and care.
If successful, this application could see Louca returning to Cyprus to live out the remaining few months of his life with his family, despite two pending cases against him, including Jackson’s murder and a separate case of possession of stolen property.
Wheelchair-bound and struggling for breath between gasps of oxygen, Louca told The Star outside the court that all he wanted was for the truth behind Jackson’s killing to come to the fore, and for his four children to know he is not a murderer.
“I am just glad to have my story told,” he said, adding that as long as his family and the public know his version of events, he can die without regret.
Louca told court that he did not kill the Teazers owner. He claimed that underworld kingpin and Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir committed the crime.
Through an interpreter, to amplify his voice, Louca was brought to the stand to say why he should be set free and to explain why he fled the country after Jackson’s 2010 murder.
“What I’m asking you is to allow me to be next to my family if it happens that I pass away. Please. Please…” he pleaded with Judge Geraldine Borchers, while
struggling to breathe.
Louca was also able to enter his entire, detailed version of the night Jackson was killed – and his accusations against Krejcir and former SAPS intelligence officer Joey Mabasa – into the official court record, in case he does not survive so that they can be tried.
Louca said that on that night, Krejcir had been invited to the Cypriot’s home to speak to Jackson about a debt Krejcir owed the Teazers boss. When Jackson accused Krejcir of providing a fake proof-of-payment slip, Krejcir took out a gun and shot him, and tried to force Louca to help him dispose of the body.
Louca fled the scene and called a police contact, Mabasa, who allegedly told Louca that Krejcir could keep him safe and prevent any arrests.
Louca said he was forced to meet Krejcir again after he had left the crime scene. The Czech businessman also provided money for him to leave the country. At that point, he feared he would be killed if he ever told the truth, he said.
Prosecutor Paul Schutte asked why Mabasa had given an affidavit claiming Louca had confessed to killing Jackson. The Cypriot said Mabasa and Krejcir had “big business” dealings, and the police officer was perhaps covering for Krejcir.
He added that he fought his own extradition from Cyprus because of this corruption, not believing his safety would be guaranteed because of “dirty officials”.
Louca’s legal team, led by advocate Wayne Gibbs, argued that it was Louca’s human right to die among his family and community, and to receive the best palliative care. He also insisted that the likelihood of Louca surviving until his September trial date for the murder was slim.
But Schutte argued that Louca’s case did not meet the requirements of Section 49E, as a prison could provide the adequate treatment and medicine he required. He also said that despite Louca’s promise to return to South Africa for trial if alive and fit to travel, there was certainly no guarantee that he would.
Judge Borchers was to rule on the application on Wednesday.
The Star