Dieter Bergs\u2019 defense team applied for an adjournment again yesterday in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg after Bergs’ lawyer argued that he was too ill to file his heads of argument in time. This follows after Judge Strydom on 6 June 2022 set a deadline for the heads of both the State and the defense to enable him to possibly give judgement yesterday in the murder case of Gen\u00e8e Bergs. The State did file its heads on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AfriForum\u2019s private prosecution unit is acting in accordance with a watching brief from Gen\u00e8e Bergs\u2019 daughter. Bergs\u2019 daughter approached the unit in 2019 after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) failed for more than eight years to prosecute Dieter Bergs (87) for (among other things) the murder of his wife, Gen\u00e8e Bergs. After the unit made representations to the Director of Public Prosecutions in April 2020 that Bergs should be prosecuted, the DPP ordered that Bergs be prosecuted and he was to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in December 2020 on these charges. He was released on bail on that occasion and the case was transferred to the High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, based on a psychiatric report from Sterkfontein, Bergs was found to be unfit to stand trial. He is charged with five crimes that he allegedly committed between 2013 and 2014. This includes, the murder of Bergs, forgery, the possession of an unlicensed firearm, the possession of ammunition and uttering. The NPA subsequently instituted prosecution under section 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act. This means that the court must make a finding on a balance of probabilities as to whether Bergs is guilty of various crimes, which entails a lighter burden of proof than in ordinary criminal cases. If Bergs is found guilty, he will be held for the rest of his life as a state presidential patient in an institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Bergs is not tried and found guilty, he will be able to inherit from his deceased wife which will not be the case if he is found guilty of her murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeveral members of Gen\u00e8e\u2019s family were also in court yesterday with the hope of finally getting a verdict in this protracted case. One could sense their frustration with the fact that the case had been postponed yet again. AfriForum also regrets the further delay, as it is a further waste of time and led to the family once again having to go home disappointed,\u201d says Natasha Venter, adviser at AfriForum\u2019s Private Prosecution Unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liane Heyl, Gen\u00e8e\u2019s niece was also in court yesterday. Although she was clearly upset with the further delay, she thanked AfriForum for the unit’s involvement in the case. \u201cWithout AfriForum, I don’t know where the case would be today,\u201d says Heyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case was postponed until 14 October 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n