Ipid to probe case of missing fisherman

Allegations police were involved in disappearance

THE DISAPPEARANCE of missing Hout Bay fisherman Durick van Blerk is officially being investigated as a case of attempted murder, says the national spokesperson for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Moses Dlamini.

Ipid, which is responsible for investigating criminal offences allegedly committed by members of the SAPS and metro police, is following up on allegations made by the two fishermen who were with Van Blerk the night he went missing.

The allegations were “against the police”, said Dlamini, who added: “(Ipid) is investigating two charges of attempted murder regarding the two witnesses who were with the missing fisherman. The body has not been recovered to date.”

To help with the investigation, local fishermen and National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) joined the search over the weekend.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the police had not asked the institute to provide further assistance as of yesterday afternoon, and that the search was still very much “ongoing”.

While the facts of Van Blerk’s disappearance will probably remain unclear until his whereabouts are confirmed, locals are convinced the police were involved.

A photo has emerged of a boat motor and inflatable pontoons, allegedly belonging to the boat Van Blerk used on the night of his disappearance, that seem to have sustained bullet damage.

The image, reportedly taken when Hangberg residents visited the two fishermen while they were in police custody, suggest shots were fired at some stage of the evening, though this has yet to be confirmed.

This was not confirmed by the police, however, as Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana from the SAPS Western Cape Media Centre released a very short statement yesterday afternoon: “The investigation is ongoing with no new development to report so far.”

After the violence of last week, the director of the South African Small Scale Fishing Collective, Ikram Halim, said that calm had largely returned to Hout Bay.

“It’s just a normal day on the harbour,” he said. “Everything seems to be slowly returning to normal.”

The Van Blerk family have extended their thanks to all parties involved in the search.

Community activist Roscoe Jacobs also issued a plea on social media for “good swimmers with wetsuits to volunteer to assist in the search.”