RETIRED lawman Barend Groen died on August 24 after a short battle with cancer. Those who knew him described him as a remarkable man who could not be intimidated or compromised in his work as a senior public prosecutor at the Durban Magistrate’s Court.

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Groen was born in the Netherlands on November 29, 1952, and migrated to South Africa as a toddler. He studied law at the then Potchefstroom University (North-West University), and would go on to work at different courts around the country before settling in KwaZulu-Natal.

Private investigator Brad Nathanson knew him well and described him as a man as straight as an arrow, who could not be persuaded to turn right into wrong or wrong into right. The two met in the 1980s while Nathanson was still a policeman and their paths crossed because of their respective professions.

“If you sent a docket to Barend for a decision on whether or not to prosecute and it came back with a decision to decline prosecution, you knew something. Barend wasn’t simply saying ‘no’; he was telling you that your case wasn’t good enough yet. You needed more evidence, and you knew he was right,” said Nathanson.

In Groen’s world, Nathanson said there was no grey area when it came to matters of principle. It did not matter who was standing in front of him, what position they held, how influential they were, or what their status might be.

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“Some people pass through your life. Others leave a mark. Barend Groen left a mark. He was one of the last of a generation of men who understood that integrity wasn’t something you talked about. It was something you lived. Thank you for the years, the wisdom, the sound advice, the conversations and, most importantly, for showing those of us who knew you what an honourable man looks like. You were a force to be reckoned with. But above all, you were a good man. And in the end, that is perhaps the finest tribute anyone can receive,” said Nathanson.

Groen married his wife Andelize in 2013, and they made their home in Amanzimtoti. She described him as the most loving and caring person she had ever encountered.

He was cremated on August 29.

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