MBOMBELA – Mr Wade Morgan Williams (30), whose alleged sabotage of the luxurious Londolozi Game Reserve made headlines in April, appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court last Friday.
During his bail hearing on April 24, Williams was accused of kidnapping a co-worker, obtaining access to Londolozi’s bank accounts and stealing more than R10 million as well as the reserve’s Discovery 4. He allegedly tried to suffocate his co-worker with a plastic bag and tried to break his neck.Williams then stuffed the man into the Discovery 4 and dropped the victim next to the road on his way to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. It was presumed that he wanted to flee to Kenya. When Williams arrived at the airport, it transpired that he couldn’t book a flight ticket.
He was driving in Riverside on his way to Johannesburg when the SAPS arrested him. Bundles of cash, a computer and the vehicle were taken from his possession.
Senior state prosecutor Adv Isabet Erwee placed on record that Williams had been planning the heist for months. She presented the court with a summary of events that preceded his arrest on April 5: “On November 26 last year, you applied for a firearm licence, which was approved on March 3.
This was a month and two days before the heist. On March 26 you acquired a taser gun and returned to Londolozi on April 2, where your weapons were not cleared. You had a hunting knife, the taser and a gun in your possession, which you put in the cockpit of the small plane you had taken to Londolozi from Johannesburg.”
The case against Williams was postponed to September 7.
On May 26, Lowvelder reported:
SKUKUZA – Former Londolozi Game Reserve employee Mr Wade Williams will appear in the Skukuza Magistrate’s Court today.
Williams was taken into custody on April 5 and charged with the kidnapping of his co-worker, the attempted murder of this victim, theft of R10 million, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft of a motor vehicle.
A set of facts shocked the court during his bail hearing in April.
On April 24, Lowvelder reported:
WHITE RIVER – A man with a plan. A carefully thought-out plan to acquire millions of rand and to destroy all evidence pointing to him. That seemed to be what Mr Wade Morgan Williams (30), an employee of Londolozi Game Reserve, had in mind when he carefully plotted for more than a year how he would rob this luxurious lodge. He was denied bail on Tuesday after state witnesses delivered testimonies nothing short of a Stephen King thriller.
Williams was arrested on the morning of Sunday April 5 after causing havoc at the reserve the previous evening. This week he had to face the music at his bail hearing where he was accused of kidnapping a co-employee to obtain access to Londolozi’s bank accounts, stealing cash and making off with a Discovery 4. The hearing could not be concluded and was postponed to this morning (Friday).
The senior state advocate, Ms Isabet Erwee made his position clear when she addressed Williams: “I put it to you that the events that led to your arrest were meticulously planned for more than a year. When you were arrested, your laptop was seized and a plan of action (POA) was discovered. Do you have anything to say in reaction to this?” He looked straight ahead and was expressionless as he replied, “I choose not to answer”.
(Photo: Facebook)
Evidence procured against Williams
During the proceedings, Erwee meticulously took him through the course of events: “On November 26 you applied for a firearm licence, which was approved on March 3. This was a month and two days before the heist. On March 26 you acquired a taser gun and returned to Londolozi on April 2, where your weapons were not cleared. You had a hunting knife, the taser and a gun in your possession, which you put in the cockpit of the small plane you had taken to Londolozi.”
Investigating officer Capt Leory Bruwer testified that Williams had obtained three black refuse bags from Londolozi’s housekeeping on April 3 and also requested 750ml champagne, 750ml vodka as well as packaging tape.
The day of the incident
Erwee then addressed the court on how Williams presumably put his plan into motion: “On April 4 after 20:00, you went to the room of Mr Dave Dampier (Williams’ colleague). With your newly licensed gun, you forced him to tie himself to a structural beam and held him there until the early hours of the morning. You threatened him and made sure that he gave you PIN codes and authorisation, enabling you to transfer R10 million from Londolozi into your bank account.”
At the time of these acts, Williams had allegedly already registered six companies with various bank accounts and opened an Absa one in his name. “You did this because you noticed that Londolozi had an Absa account.” She said Williams knew that it would speed up any electronic fund transfer from the lodge’s if it was the same bank and that he had been planning to then transfer the money to all his other accounts.
The state claimed that Williams also forced Dampier to down the champagne and vodka so that he would lose consciousness. “This way, it would have been easier to kill him. “You then put a plastic bag over his head and used a blanket to suffocate him.” She added that Williams had allegedly tried to break Dampier’s neck.
It was also testified that Williams set the reserve’s archives alight and stole a hard drive. (This hard drive, filled with confidential information and financial documents, has not been located yet). He then returned from the archives to Dampier’s room and checked whether his colleague was dead by poking him with a syringe and shining a flashlight into his eyes. Dampier surprised Williams and overpowered him.
A desperate attempt to escape
Erwee continued with the state’s case and said, “This is where you had to deviate from your original plan. You planned to get rid of Dampier’s dead body by dumping it in Taylor’s dam. Are there crocodiles in the dam?” Williams replied, “There is one crocodile”.
She then referred to Williams’ neatly written and numbered POA where he stated: “get rid of the body, no body, no crime”.
The prosecutor put it to him that he had managed to regain the upper hand over Dampier and then shoved him in the Discovery 4, not thinking that the vehicle might be linked to a tracking device. According to records, Williams left the lodge at 07:00, dropped Dampier off next to the road and drove to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport where his plan was to flee to Kenya. He wasn’t, however, able to purchase a ticket to Kenya and decided to drive to Johannesburg.
Investigating officer Bruwer testified that CCTV footage showed Williams frantically darting from the one car hire company to the next. “All of them were closed and he left.” From there, the accused started his journey to Johannesburg but meanwhile Dampier had been found next to the road by employees of the reserve and was taken back to Londolozi. The authorities and vehicle-tracking company were alerted and by 08:30 Williams was arrested near the Volvo garage on the R40 outside Mbombela.
Further testimony presented to oppose bail
Bruwer also testified that the accused in his opinion had a blatant disregard for the law. “My reason for saying this is twofold. Firstly, I’ve seen his credit record. He is severely in debt. After stealing R10 million, he proceeded to transfer all that money to his own bank accounts. That was greedy. He could have at least settled his debts with the stolen money.”
Bruwer also mentioned a phone call that he had received on Friday morning from Capt Molemo of Johannesburg’s Organised Crime Unit who requested to speak to Williams in connection with R1-million misdemeanour. Yet, when Bruwer called the unit’s office in Johannesburg it denied having a Capt Molemo on its team. This same so-called Capt Molemo arrived at the property that Williams was renting, requesting access to his room which was denied. Mr Mzilikazi Enos Mazibuko, Williams’ attorney, indicated that this had nothing to do with the accused and that no inference could be drawn from this incident. Bruwer maintained that this incident should not be taken lightly.
The police found documents pertaining to Londolozi’s finances in William’s room. The case was postponed to May 6 for further investigation.
Also read: Posh lodge owner tied up, employee takes millions
