A 25-year-old man who was part a group of demonstrators during the court appearance of Pieter Groenewald and his son Stephan has been remanded in custody when he appeared on Thursday.
The Groenewalds were making their second court appearance on Wednesday after they were arrested for attempted murder before the Groblersdal Magistrate's Court in Limpopo.
The 25-year-old Francois van der Merwe was arrested after he was part of the crowd which gathered at court in support of the Groenewald father and son.
Van der Merwe is facing charges of assault on police and interference with police in the execution of their duties.
“The matter (against Van der Merwe) is postponed to Thursday, February 1, 2024 for further investigation and formal bail application,” said Limpopo provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
“It is alleged that on Wednesday the police blocked the route leading to the magistrate's court building in Groblersdal as part of crowd control when the suspect, who was accompanied by a group of people, became unruly and confrontational, pushing their way marching towards the court.”
Ledwaba said during the standoff, one of the police officers assigned to maintain order at the court was “violently” pushed to the ground.
“The reinforcement from police came to their colleagues’ rescue and arrested the suspect (Van der Merwe),” said Ledwaba.
“The suspect is allegedly also facing charges of assault in Gauteng province. Police investigations are continuing.”
On Monday, police in Limpopo said Pieter Groenewald, a security company owner, aged 63, and his son Stephan, aged 27, were arrested for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm on Thursday last week.
They made their initial appearance before the Groblersdal Magistrate's Court on Friday last week, where their case was postponed to Wednesday for bail application.
The skirmishes outside the court happened on Wednesday when a crowd gathered to show support to the arrested father and son.
“According to the preliminary information, a 30-year-old victim was performing his guard duties at a network tower battery on January 17, 2024, at Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga province, when his supervisor paid an oversight visit,” Ledwaba narrated.
The supervisor then accused the security guard of being intoxicated while on duty.
“As a result, he (supervisor) drove with him (security guard) to Groblersdal in Limpopo province to discuss the matter with the manager. Upon arrival, the two got into an argument that resulted in the manager hitting the victim with a hard object,” said Ledwaba.
“The security manager allegedly instructed a male relative to unleash their pet dog on the victim. The dog bit the victim on both legs.”
The security guard reported the incident to police, and a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was opened.
The two suspects, Piet Groenewald and his son Stephan were then traced and arrested the following day.
IOL