Missing Sodwana Bay skipper case: Startling revelations in Ferdie Visser escape

The mystery surrounding the death of John ‘Matambu’ Dercksen has taken a new turn as information came to light about the escape of the main suspect, Ferdie Visser.

In a bizarre sequence of events described below, resemblances to the Thabo Bester escape seem to gradually come into focus.

Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Opheliah Motloutsi confirmed today that Visser escaped from the Tonga Community Corrections facility near Komatipoort more than six weeks ago, on September 23, apparently while doing community service. However, news of his possible escape only surfaced when Matambu’s sister, Cherie Eilertsen, posted about it on Facebook on Monday, October 28.

Advocate Gerrie Nel subsequently wrote a scathing letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on November 1, demanding confirmation of Visser’s status. He has yet to receive a response.

According to the DCS, Visser was released on parole on March 6 after having served half of a three-year sentence for an unrelated matter.

Visser was admitted to the Tonga Community Corrections office on the same day with a sentence expiry date of August 30, 2025. He was meant to remain at the designated address provided to the DCS – understood to be his parents’ house in Marloth Park.

However, when parole officers checked on Visser between March 7 and 22, he was not there.

Motloutsi said Visser was subsequently traced and found in custody in the Qalakabusha Correctional Centre in Empangeni for alleged fraud and theft. This after his alleged involvement in John Matambu’s disappearance on March 16.

Circumstantial evidence presented in a previous letter Nel directed to the DPP on October 4 suggested that Visser had fraudulently chartered Matambu’s boat and allegedly killed him in an attempt to flee to Mozambique to escape his parole conditions.

Motloutsi said Visser’s parole in the other matter was subsequently revoked and he was readmitted to the Tonga Community Corrections facility as a high-risk inmate from which he, as we now know, escaped more than six weeks ago.

Motloutsi said a case of abscondment was opened with the Komatipoort SAPS and an internal tracing team was working to locate him. However, Lowvelder has reliably learnt that the Komatipoort SAPS has no such docket on record. In addition, Nel said the investigating officer in the Matambu case was also not made aware of Visser’s transfer to Tonga.

Mbombela case

While Matambu’s family members and friends are left grappling with unanswered questions surrounding Visser’s disappearance, the victim of another ‘horrifically demeaning’ crime Visser allegedly committed in Mbombela in 2015 is coming to terms with old wounds reopened by the news of his latest vanishing act.

While the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 prohibits Lowvelder from disclosing the nature of the alleged crime, the paper can confirm that Nel has been briefed by the victim to ensure the matter is re-enrolled. He has also been briefed to consider private prosecution should the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) refuse to prosecute.

In a letter directed to the DPP in Mpumalanga, Nel said they remained in the dark as to the reasons for the failure to prosecute Visser. He also expressed concern that Visser had been released on parole (on March 6) despite the pending Mbombela case against him.

Nel concluded the letter with a strong statement that further delays in responding to his team’s enquiries would support their inference that ‘Visser had received untoward assistance to escape prosecution in this matter’.

Speaking to Lowvelder, the Mbombela victim said Visser’s escape has opened a Pandora’s box. “Just as I think things couldn’t get more bizarre, they do. I was absolutely shocked when I received the call on Friday. I would like to know where my docket is. I hope there aren’t more [undiscovered] victims out there,” the victim said.

According to the victim, the investigating officer maintained the case was strong, but after he was shot, the case ground to a halt. The victim also questioned why the case was being handled in a ‘hush-hush’ manner.

Responding to questions, Mpumalanga NPA’s spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the docket has been requested from the Senior Public Prosecutor’s office. She said the DPP had no background information on the matter as it dated back to 2015, but the DPP was in the process of obtaining the case docket to consider the reasons for not prosecuting Visser and to make a decision. She committed to further comments once the docket has been received.