Victoria statue suspect released
More evidence sought after Walsh, 24, appears in court
PORT Elizabeth EFF member Paul “WeSizwe” Walsh, who was sought by police in connection with last week’s paint attack on the Queen Victoria statute in the city, was released within hours of handing himself over to police yesterday.
Walsh, 24, who could still face criminal charges, handed himself over after failed attempts to arrest him at the weekend, when he allegedly fled his girlfriend’s Mowbray Street, Newton Park, home as police arrived on Saturday night.
State prosecutors withdrew the charge of malicious damage to property and released Walsh yesterday, but said the prosecution would continue once police had gathered more evidence.
Walsh had been sought by police on the basis of witness statements and CCTV footage released last week, which showed a man defacing the statue of Queen Victoria in front of the public library, near the City Hall, by throwing green paint over it.
The incident was believed to be linked to the EFF’s recent threats to topple apartheid- and colonial-era statues and monuments.
Humewood police station commander Brigadier Ronald Koll said police had tried to arrest Walsh on Saturday after detectives had gathered leads and taken statements from witnesses.
“[This] led us to believe he [Walsh] was the prime suspect. When officers went to the house in Mowbray Street on Saturday afternoon to arrest him, he fled.
“About two hours later, police were contacted by his lawyer who said Walsh would hand himself over at the police station on Monday morning,” Koll said.
At 10.30am yesterday, attorney Stuart Laubscher escorted Walsh into the Humewood police station where he was arrested.
Prosecutors at the North End Law Courts, however, decided not to proceed with the prosecution until more evidence had been gathered.
“The investigator was instructed by the state prosecutor to find out how to clear up the video footage,” Koll said.
“The footage will be sent to the cyber crimes unit to enhance the images and witness statements will be obtained. Once all this has been done, the case will be placed back on the court roll and prosecution will continue.”
Laubscher said he was contacted late on Saturday evening by Walsh who said the police were searching for him. “An agreement was reached that he hand himself over on Monday morning.”
Laubscher said: “My client was processed – statements and fin- gerprints were taken – and he was sent to appear before court. On our arrival [at court], however, the state prosecutor said the charges would be dropped as there was not enough evidence to tie my client to the incident.”
He said the footage alone was not enough, but if more evidence came to light his client could be charged again. Laubscher also confirmed last night that Walsh lived in Mill Park and not at the Mowbray Street house.
Asked whether Walsh was employed, Laubscher said he was studying through Unisa.
He said Walsh was not willing to speak to the media at this stage, and declined to comment on his internet and social media profiles or content, saying he was unaware of Walsh’s online activities.
Police also confirmed that another case under the National Heritage Act had been opened by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Sunday.
Nelson Mandela Bay EFF regional deputy chairman Bo Madwara said the party was distancing itself from the case and the arrest and release of the suspect.
“We have not sanctioned anyone to paint any statue. We commit to breaking these statues up and removing them,” he said.
Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesman Roland Williams welcomed the arrest.
“We request all to allow the police space and time to carry out their investigation to its full conclusion,” he said.
Walsh’s former employer, events company Magnetic Storm, said Walsh had been employed as a junior technician and sound engineer for about a year in 2013.
“I can’t tell you much about him, other than I know that he had spent some time in England and that he had worked at another events company before joining us,” human resources manager Ian Davidson said.
“I can say that I saw him in the paper the other day and that this whole thing just came out of left field, as a complete surprise. He showed no sign that he was into politics when he was here.”
Two internet sites, one a Facebook page, however, show Walsh has a strong interest in politics and music. On his Facebook
page, Walsh is pictured with EFF leader Julius Malema, who has his arm around him in a friendly embrace. The picture, according to the Facebook page, was posted on August 5 last year.
The page is titled Paul WeSizwe Walsh –in a possible reference to Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC and which means “Spear of the Nation”.
The other website is a Wikipedia site titled Paul Walsh, which – after The Herald viewed it on Friday – was revised to remove all references to politics shortly after 9am on Saturday. The page on Friday described Walsh, born on February 22 1991, as “a South African musician, actor and sound engineer” who had worked with a number of well- known bands in England and South Africa.
He described himself as a politician and “well-known for his presence in the politics of South Africa”.
The site said further: “In mid-2010, he was appointed an international representative and region leader for the [UK] for the South African political party [Geloftesvolk Republikeine], loosely translated as ‘People of the Vow Republic’.”
It said Walsh had spent all of his early life in South Africa, but had moved to the UK at age 12 due to his stepfather’s work.
The Geloftesvolk Republikeine was formed by Andre Visagie, the former Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) general secretary in 2010 following the death of AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche.
Visagie made headlines when he made the infamous “Don’t touch me on my studio” comment before storming out of a television interview.
The same group also made headlines during the trial of alleged right-wingers who were accused of planning an attack on the ANC conference at Mangaung in Bloemfontein.