Six men who were arrested while trying to vandalise street signs bearing former president Nelson Mandela’s name to replace them with those with the name of rightwinger Clive Derby-Lewis have been granted bail.
Jan Beyers, Thomas Harmse, Daan Greafe, (all aged 31), Petrus Geldenhuys, 38, Ruan Combrink, 27, and Abraham Pretorius, 25, were each granted bail of R1 000 when they appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
The men, who, according to the police, belonged to a right-wing group in the city known as Verkenners (scouters), were arrested on Sunday night after they were spotted by CCTV surveillance camera operators while trying to replace the Nelson Mandela Drive sign with one that read “Clive Derby-Lewis Street” on the corner of Nelson Mandela Drive and Rissik Street.
Derby-Lewis is serving time in Pretoria Central Prison for murdering ANC stalwart Chris Hani, and his application for parole has been turned down twice over the 17 years that he has been in prison.
According to the State, the men face charges of public violence, malicious damage to property and Section 57 of the Road Traffic Act (defacing a street sign).
Asked why the men had been charged with public violence, prosecutor Sipho Letsoalo said the men allegedly incited violence.
The men’s legal representative, Marius Coertze, said the charges his clients faced were “malicious drivel”.
“This (arrest of the men) is a political over-reaction. It is aimed at scaring people who want to express their views,” he said.
Coertze could not confirm if his clients were members of Verkenners, stating that “it was a demonstration by a few friends”.
“They wanted to put across a statement,” he said, adding that there was no damage to property.
Meanwhile, the ANC (Tshwane Region) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had noted “with disgust the vandalisation of street signs in Pretoria which bear the name of our iconic leader Nelson Mandela”.
“These despicable acts by a group of right-wing extremists, at a time when the entire world celebrates his birthday and pays tribute for his contribution to democracy, justice, peace and reconciliation, are reason for concern,” said regional spokesman Burton Joseph.
“We salute the police for their swift action in arresting the perpetrators, and look forward to them facing the full might of the law.”
Gauteng’s MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, described the action of the men as an attempt “to throw scorn at our achievements of reconciliation, peace and nation-building”.
“This the work of a tiny minority who are desperate to provoke the tendencies we successfully defeated in the period leading to the democratic breakthrough of 1994.
“We must reject this conduct and continue to work tirelessly as a nation to defend the values upon which we founded the new nation as enshrined in the constitution.” - Pretoria News