Marais fined, sells out Botha

Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
SOUTH African businessman, Fredrick Wilhem August Lutzkie staged drama at the Gwanda Magistrate’s Court yesterday when he attacked a Chronicle news crew covering the case of his colleague who was being tried for illegally working in Zimbabwe.
Controversial Lutzkie is out on bail after his recent conviction for violating immigration and aviation laws. He was convicted of 14 counts by a Harare magistrate a few days ago and sentenced to seven years in prison, but was to serve an effective three-and-a-half years. He was later released on $2,000 bail.

Lutzkie threatened to crush this reporter with a stone and uttered expletives at her after he had seen her trying to take pictures of him. Lutzkie also attempted to snatch the camera, but later calmed down to grant an unsolicited interview.

He blamed the media, especially Chronicle for giving him what he said was bad publicity shouting, “You reporters are liars. You lie in everything you do. You lie when you sleep, you lie when you breathe. You have been writing s**t about me.”

Pieter Schalk Marais, 43, who worked illegally as a supervisor at Doddieburn Ranch in Gwanda District, where Lutzkie is running a safari venture, was yesterday fined $100.

Prosecutors say Marais entered the country between July 17 last year and May 17, this year for holiday but ended up taking employment as a supervisor at the West Nicholson ranch.

Marais admitted to working in the country without a work permit when he appeared before Matabeleland South Provincial magistrate-in-charge Reuben Mukavhi.
He said he was unaware that by becoming a “part time” supervisor at the ranch, he was committing an offence since Laurens Marthinus Botha, a South African business partner, had assured him that there would not be any problems.

“Your worship, it was part time employment,” said Marais, adding that he was employed in South Africa earning R20,000 monthly.
In passing sentence, magistrate Mukavhi said the case was minor and that the courts had an interest in encouraging investors to invest in the country.

The magistrate said in his verdict he had taken into consideration that Marais was a first time offender who pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time.
He said although the South African had committed the crime out of ignorance that could not be used as a defence.

“You were working as a part owner of the business. As a businessperson, you need to have an appropriate permit and in doing that, you would not be found in this situation. With this country’s need to attract foreign investors, you would be looked at in a very different way.

“What aggravates this case is that you broke the law, you were supposed to get a permit to allow you to do other things other than holiday.
“This is a minor case and I don’t see any need for this court to be unduly harsh. As the courts, we also need to play our part in encouraging foreign direct investment,” said Mukavhi.

He said after looking at Marais’ record, he would not make any order in relation to his continued stay or otherwise in Zimbabwe.
When Mukavhi asked Marais as to who Botha, also a South African, was, he said, “As far as I know, he is a manager at Doddieburn Ranch.”

Marais statement makes him a potential State witness to testify against Botha who denied working at the farm as a manager and his case is on trial.
Meanwhile, Botha through his lawyer Thamsanqa Khumalo of Phulu and Matshobana Legal Practitioners had his South African passport temporarily released into the custody of Khumalo for purposes of extending his stay in Zimbabwe as his court case continues.

The magistrate said Botha should not have any access to the passport and it should be returned to the Gwanda Clerk of Court on or before Monday next week.
Marais remark on the status of his business partner, Botha, points to suggestions that all is not well between the South Africans amid unconfirmed allegations that the latter defrauded their partner, Lutzkie of huge sums of money.

Chronicle noticed that Marais and Lutzkie kept together at court yesterday, while Botha was seemingly isolated from the pair.
Lutzkie was angry when this reporter attempted to photograph him and almost had her camera snatched before she ran away.

On realising his mistake, he approached the Chronicle news crew a few minutes later and claimed that he had improved the lives of people at Doddieburn.
“Those people had no safe drinking water but I have done a lot to improve their day-to-day lives. I have invested about R23 million in the country. I will invite you to come and see the good I have done,” said Lutzkie.

He however, did not apologise for his earlier lunge on the news team.