MBOMBELA – In April Wade Williams (30) made front-page headlines when he attempted to rob Londolozi Game Reserve and kill the financial manager, Mr Dave Dampier. On Tuesday a poker-faced Williams was sent to prison for 30 years in the Nelspruit Regional Court.
But, before spending a long time behind bars, Williams, in true politician style, presented an eight-page plead to the court on Monday, where he tried to explain that his intention was a noble one and that he wanted to take from the rich and give to the poor.
The highly publicised heist played out from 20:00 on April 4 to 08:00 the next morning. In these 12 hours, Williams kidnapped Dampier, forced access codes to the reserve’s bank accounts out of him at gunpoint and transferred R10,3 million from Londolozi’s account to his own.
He also drugged Dampier and had even planned to finish him off then feed his body to the reserve’s crocodiles. A battle ensued between the men and in the end Williams threw him out of the vehicle and fled.
When his initial plan to fly to Kenya didn’t work out he decided to flee to Johannesburg while still driving in the reserve’s Discovery 4. He never made it past Mbombela and was arrested after the vehicle signal was tracked.
He pleaded guilty to charges of theft, theft of a motor vehicle, attempted murder, kidnapping, arson and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm in October.
In his address to court Williams blamed his actions on the capitalist society where the rich get richer and the poor are forced into a life of crime. He felt compelled to change the fate of the poor working for Londolozi by sharing the money he had stolen. He said, “I decided to redistribute the wealth hoarded by Londolozi’s land barons and give it to the rightful owners, the employees running Londolozi Game Reserve.”
He further explained, “To that end, I set up a bank account by the name of Enki, the ancient Sumerian god that created mankind and is its protector and benefactor.” Williams further claimed that he was very open about his intentions with all relevant parties during his arrest including his attorney, the police and even the Netstar agent.
Williams kept referring to his resentfulness against the capitalists: “The third world is being auctioned off to the highest bidder with no regard for the welfare, prosperity or futures of the local populations. Sooner of later Africa and other third-world continents will be entirely economically controlled by a handful of wealthy capitalists, negating political power and fully re-establishing colonial rule by the new nobility, the masters of capitalism.”
It also seemed as if his expectation of jail and what he found surprised him: “There is a common perception among people in South Africa that those arrested or found guilty are heartless monsters not fit to be in society, while this may be true of a tiny fraction, my experience has shown me nothing could be further from the truth for most. I have been greeted with great humanity and treated with kindness and generosity by a community of fellow human beings.”
The magistrate, Mr André Geldenhuys was, however, not softened by this explanation. He acknowledged that the “Enki” bank account had been created, but pointed out that evidence against Williams suggested he had less noble intentions. He referred to the so-called plan of action which he had drawn up before he executed his plan and where he made note of what he was going to purchase and do with the money. “Your plan of action, which you followed to commit these crimes, ended with you buying gold, cars and property for yourself,” he reminded Williams.
Geldenhuys sentenced him to an effective imprisonment of 30 years and advised him to contemplate his guilt. Although Williams maintained that he had no bad intentions, Geldenhuys said he was a risk for society and had to be locked up. “Once you start believing this yourself, you’ll have taken a step in the right direction,” said the magistrate.
Dampier’s life has largely returned to normal. After months of being unable to return to the room in which he was held, he has since done so and made a conscious effort to put the events behind him and live life to the full.
Both him and the lodge’s general manager, Mr Chris Kane Berman welcomed the lengthy sentence. They applauded investigating officer Capt Leroy Bruwer and senior state advocate, Ms Isabet Erwee. “They did their jobs exceptionally, with utmost professionalism,” Berman said.
Also read:
• Posh lodge owner tied up, employee takes millions
• Wade Williams gets 30 years for Londolozi heist
