Rasaad Adams|Published
A man accused of allowing his rottweilers to maul a 14-year-old boy in Sir Lowry’s Pass has been granted R5,000 bail, despite facing charges linked to two alleged dog attacks just days apart.
Willem van der Westhuizen, 59, appeared in the Somerset West Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, October 21, on charges of attempted murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The attempted murder charge relates to the mauling of Christiano Jansen, while the assault charge stems from an earlier alleged attack involving the same dogs on a 36-year-old man. Christiano’s family says it is devastated by the bail decision.
What happened at the dam?
The incident occurred on 7 October when Christiano Jansen and a group of friends were allegedly playing near a dam in Sir Lowry’s Pass.
During earlier bail proceedings, investigating officer Sergeant David Stimelo told the court that Christiano and six friends were near the dam when Van der Westhuizen approached them.
“One of the boys said he heard how the accused said that the dogs must chase them,” Stimelo testified.
The children allegedly ran when the two rottweilers charged towards them, but Christiano fell and was mauled.
The teenager suffered severe injuries to his head, face and legs. He was initially taken to Helderberg Hospital before being transferred to Tygerberg Hospital for specialised treatment.
Accused dispute's State's version
The State alleged that Van der Westhuizen allowed the dogs to attack the boy and left him injured at the scene.
However, the defence disputed this version, arguing that Van der Westhuizen had been walking his dogs on his property when they ran ahead and chased the children. His lawyers claimed he was trying to catch up with the animals and put them back on their leads.
The court heard that Van der Westhuizen had no previous convictions.
Outside court on Wednesday, community activist Allen Arendse said the family was disappointed by the bail decision.
Arendse said: “As a community, we feel gutted about the decision to grant him bail. We feel he should have remained behind bars. We will be back here on the 10th of December. We will fight this case to the very end. We just hope and pray that justice will serve us well.”
Christiano’s mother, who attended court for the first time on Wednesday, said her son was improving after being discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Emma Jansen, mother of the 36-year-old victim, said her son was also recovering but continued to experience pain in one leg.
The ma said: “Tygerberg Hospital took really good care of him. They operated on him for eight hours. Thanks to the amazing doctors he now looks much better than he did on that Wednesday when this happened.”
Jansen said she was monitoring him closely to prevent any setbacks.
“My child is a fighter. He is so strong. I think it has not really sunk in what he actually went through,” she said.
“I am thankful to God for giving him the strength to fight up until now.”
The case was postponed to 10 December for further investigation.