SKUKUZA – Mr Wade Morgan Williams has been in jail for more than two months since his seemingly fail-proof plan of action for the perfect heist went horribly wrong on April 5.
Testimony delivered in his bail hearing previously revealed how he had meticulously planned to rob the luxurious Londolozi Game Reserve.
He briefly appeared in the Skukuza Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where it was confirmed that his case will be transferred to the Nelspruit Regional Court in Mbombela. He is facing charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, assault, robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, arson and malicious damage to property.
According to the state, he kidnapped his co-employee, Mr Dave Dampier by tying him to a structural beam in the latter’s room on the evening of April 5. Williams allegedly forced his victim to down 750 millilitres of champagne and 750ml vodka and obtained access codes to Londolozi’s bank accounts from him, enabling Williams to transfer R10 000 000 of the lodge’s money to his own accounts.
Apparently, he also stole bundles of cash and tried to kill Dampier by tying a plastic bag around his neck and smothering him with a blanket. It is believed that Williams proceeded to the lodge’s archives and attempted to set them alight before returning to Dampier’s room to confirm whether he had died by poking him with a syringe and shining a flashlight into his eyes.
This caused Dampier to wake up and he broke free from the beam. Williams managed to overpower him once again and shoved him into the back of the reserve’s new Discovery S4.
According to the investigating officer, Capt Leroy Bruwer’s testimony, Wiliams dropped Dampier off next to the road on his way to the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. A detailed “plan of action” that was discovered on his laptop revealed that he had intended to flee to Kenya.
However, he could not book a flight ticket and took the N4 to Johannesburg. He did not get very far as police arrested him before he could leave Mbombela. Williams was denied bail on April 20. He will appear in Skukuza’s Magistrate’s Court again on June 24, when a court date for his appearance in the Nelspruit Regional Court will be confirmed.
