Africa-Press – South-Africa. For the last eight years, Minnie has dedicated her life to fighting for justice on behalf of her murdered mother, Genée Bergs .
Now, Minnie – who did not want her surname used – feels she is getting closer to finding closure and justice.
On Tuesday, the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg sat to decide whether Genée’s husband, Dieter Bergs, can, on the balance of probabilities, be found guilty of her murder. This, after he was declared unfit to stand trial on health reasons earlier this year.
According to Bergs, Genée was shot and killed, allegedly by an intruder in their Parktown North home. She was 70 at the time of her death.
Bergs was injured in the incident by what the State prosecutor, Melissa Bayat, described as a self-inflicted wound.
Bergs was arrested a few months after the murder, but charges against him were dropped after a ballistic report presented in the case was discredited.
In August 2016, Minnie lodged a complaint with the Gauteng police commissioner and the National Prosecuting Authority.
This led to an inquest in 2017. The inquest concluded Bergs be charged for the alleged crime.
He was then re-arrested in 2020 and released on R10 000 bail. He also faced additional charges of fraud, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition and uttering.
87-year-old Joburg man charged with wife’s murder wants gardener, butler questioned too
He was accused of forging Genée’s signature to sign over shares to himself.
Bergs was supposed to go on trial earlier this year, but a psychiatric report found that he was not suitable to stand trial.
Now, Minnie believes a ruling based on a balance of probabilities, determined in terms of Section 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act, as to whether he is guilty of the crimes is what will give her closure.
If found guilty, Bergs, 87, will be admitted to a frail-care facility under supervision, the prosecutor told court.
“I am just sorry it didn’t happen eight years ago, but I am pleased we are now getting to a result,” Minnie said outside the court.
On why she didn’t stop fighting for her mother, Minnie said:
She said that, while the couple had been married for 15 years at the time of the incident, she never trusted her stepfather.
“I never liked him. My mother’s friends never liked him. My friends never liked him. That should tell you a story. I didn’t like his arrogance and big mouth. It was always all talk and no action, always making promises.”
She said:
In court, through his lawyer, Ian Allis, Bergs argued he was not financially dependent on his wife.
The State claimed Bergs would benefit from a R4 million policy if his wife died.
Bayat was unable to say where the policy was held and whether a payout was made.
Allis argued that this proved there was no policy.
He, instead, said the couple lived above their means.
“There is no evidence of financial difficulties. Those statements were made only by parties who would inherit [from Genèe’s will]. If Mr Bergs is excluded, they would inherit more.
“There’s nowhere it has been proven that he had a financial dependency on the deceased. What we can show is that the accused and the deceased lived too much of an extravagant lifestyle. For the accused to kill the deceased, it would not improve his financial problems, instead it would make them worse,” Allis argued.
Court to rule if man, 87, can be held liable for wife’s murder after being declared unfit for trial
Minnie said that, while he was a beneficiary of his wife’s will, he had still not received money from the estate because of the legal proceedings.
“He hasn’t gotten a cent. It makes me very happy and there isn’t much left anyway. Even if he does [get something], he might get R1.5 million. It’s not what he thought he was going to get.”
The frail-looking Bergs attended court proceedings via a Teams link. He is in the Western Cape and unable to travel because of his health.
Minnie said seeing him online was easier than being in the same courtroom.
Minnie said:
She said what made her angry was when Allis said that, on the night of the murder, the gardener and butler were on the property and they should also be seen as suspects.
Allis said: “The fact that we have two people on the property is suddenly ruled out, and that the accused is the only suspect.”
The gardener found a gun buried in the garden a few months after the incident.
Bergs told police it was a gun he had borrowed from a friend.
On the allegations that the employees might be involved, Minnie said: “They tried to blame [gardener] Frank [Ngwenya] and [butler] Lewis.
“Lewis wasn’t even on the property on the night… that really annoys me. Frank still works for me and the new owner of the house. This is someone we trust completely.”
Bayat and Allis were asked to submit their heads of arguments.
A judgment will be made once this is done.
“I understand why prison won’t take him, but I still want him to pay for what he did,” Minnie said.
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