The Consortium – Landlords, Accomplices and the Criminal Power Grab Behind the R200 Million Campaign

THE CONSORTIUM:

THE SUMMARY OF THE CAMPAIGN

NOTE: Due to the content heavy nature of the information, this website has not been designed for and may not view well on mobile phones or small screens.

Two Hundred Million Reasons

When asked for the motivation for outwardly law-abiding citizens embarking on a campaign of extraordinary criminality, cruelty, and deception, put simply there are two hundred million reasons. That figure of R200 million, is the total amount of patrimonial losses I have suffered.

Those who masterminded the campaign against me have benefitted by a similar sum.

By fabricating crimes to frame me, placing fabricated articles via ‘friends’ at Media24/News24, by authoring online content including a petition and fake Instagram profiles, by creating fake dossiers and even by creating victims in the absence of real ones, they have managed to manipulate the narrative and public opinion. Switching the roles, presenting themselves as victims, and me as the villain.

The facts and the evidence demonstrate otherwise. Including the thousands of files and the hundreds of individual documents. But at the point of drafting this summary, not one of those responsible has been held accountable for their actions, or for the losses they caused me or any of their victims, or for the very intentional public humiliation resulting from their criminal defamation. The narrative remains unchallenged.

To date, Psira (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority) are the only one professional enough, brave enough, and conscientious enough to investigate the allegations that fell within their remit. Conducting a competent, detailed, and professional investigation. We very much hope they take the matter as far as it is possible to go and ensure Wouter de Swardt is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Having manipulated the law entirely for his and his client’s benefit and having either committed or been a party to over five hundred separate criminal offences, for him to go unprosecuted would be especially unjust and a seismic systemic failure.

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THE R200 MILLION MOTIVE

The campaign against me was not about justice—it was about money. I suffered R200 million in losses, while those behind the scheme benefited by a similar amount.

Fabricated crimes, false articles placed through Media24, online smear campaigns, and even fake victims were all part of a deliberate strategy. They switched the roles, making themselves the victims and me the villain—despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The Start

In 2020 through 2022, I had long leased several very large houses in the most prestigious locations along the Atlantic Seaboard, and with the owners' blessing and encouragement, I invested a significant amount of time, expertise, as well as millions of Rand in each, to transform them into very high-end luxury villas, to be rented out to wealthy overseas tourists. The agreement and understanding were that I would be granted tenure of five years to justify the outlay, enabling the recouping of the large sums invested and eventually turning a profit.

The millions spent and the expertise deployed to transform the properties resulted in A) achievable rent levels that tripled and quadrupled from their previous values and B) occupancy rates that were also triple that previously achieved. The combined effect of those two factors resulted in rental income being between 300% and 1,500% higher than previous levels. Additionally, the capital value of the properties increased significantly.

My fatal mistake was in believing the concept would be any ordinary landlord's idea of heaven: A tenant for a minimum of 5 years, paying a generous rent circa 20% above market value, with 10% per annum upward rent increases, little or no agency fees after year one. As well as the peace of mind of 100% occupancy years into the future; a tenant who would not only take great care of the property (conscious of satisfying the demands of high-end tourists) but would also use their own expertise and money to vastly improve every facet of it.

I had not taken into consideration the simple human emotions of greed and jealousy. When the transformations were finished and it became clear that the revenue the properties could now generate was significantly more than both what they had earned before and the sum paid by me, rather than their idea of heaven, I became an obstacle standing in the way of them banking those additional millions.

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THE AGREEMENT THEY TRIED TO ERASE

The agreement was explicit: I would lease the properties, fully refurbish them at my own expense, and let them out to tourists. In return, I was guaranteed a five-year tenure to recoup my investment.

This was not my proposal—it came from Keith, Inge, and Gail Broad. Despite this, Media24’s articles presented a completely false version of events, omitting the actual facts and agreements.

The Business Model

The business model is similar to that of a sizeable private infrastructure project, such as a tunnel or a motorway, in that almost all of the development costs, resources, time, and expertise, occur at the start of the project's construction. Revenue, for example, from tolls, flows in over the life of the project.

The relationship's core imbalance was that by definition, I would complete my end of the bargain first, i.e. the refurbishment. In comparison, the landlords only completed their end of the bargain through the completion of the 5-year tenure. So, from the moment the refurbishments were complete and thereby my obligations were honoured, I was vulnerable to the owners reneging on their obligations, then and at any point thereafter.

Bizarrely, rather than hope their tenant is not going to have rent arrears or will not damage the property, they hoped I would. And set about trying to make arrears a reality. There followed almost a hundred different attacks, coordinated by WDS, SAPS, the consortium, the majority of which are detailed in a table.

[Link to the folder with a selection of videos and images of the properties prior to and after the transformations]

FACT FILE

A BUSINESS MODEL DESIGNED FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS

The business model was structured like a private infrastructure project—investment upfront, with revenue generated over time. I took on all of the financial risk, completing my obligations first, while the landlords only had to honor the five-year lease.

Instead of keeping to their side of the deal, they broke the agreement once the work was complete, ensuring they reaped the profits while leaving me with the losses.

The Choice

The owners had a choice: Honour the agreement, allow me to recover my investment and my reward for being the one to spot the opportunities, take the risk, do the work, invest the time and the money, manage the projects, create the product, OR B) Remove me and take the premium rental for themselves.

They chose the latter.

For the owners, the short-term gain trumped any idea of my value over the long term.

[For Keith Broad, my removal was always part of the plan and essential, so that they could sell their property at its new, vastly improved price, enabling them to clear their very considerable debts. This is evidenced by the fact that just a few days after the second arrest, they listed the property for sale. Advertising it at R31 million, a full R13 million more than it had been valued only a year earlier. An increase of 65%. Additionally, the rent advertised at R25,000 a night compared to just R6,000 prior to the transformation. When factoring in the old and new occupancy rates, it equates to R60,000 a month prior to the transformation, and R625,000 after].

As long as I remained the tenant, they could not sell the property or receive rental income above the contracted rate of R90,000. As the combined value of the premiums across the collection created by me comfortably exceeded R100 million over the tenures of the leases, of which the majority was in dollars, sterling, and euros, the temptation proved too much.

Below is a very small selection from the more than two hundred albums containing in excess of one hundred thousand photos taken between 2020 and 2022. These images are important in providing context. The motivation for the extensive corruption and criminality is easier to understand when having viewed the images and the financial data.

FACT FILE

PROPERTY GRAB

Before my involvement, the properties generated R3 million per year. After my transformations, that number skyrocketed to R30 million annually—a 1,000% increase.

This wasn’t a dispute over unpaid rent or mismanagement. It was a calculated strategy to steal control of the massive profits my work had created.

The Challenge

The challenge for the greedy landlords was that such an idea was both highly illegal and very immoral. As I had paid all the rent and bills in full and on time, and spent a fortune transforming the properties, no court would sanction such attempts. And the optics of anything close to this would be appalling for those involved.

So, they had to navigate a mix of ‘legal’ ** and illegal routes to achieve their goal. Essential to the success of the plan was the creation of a narrative in which they were the victims, and I was the villain. They managed to do this very successfully. In particular, via the Media24/News24 group. With additional help from their fake petition and fake Instagram profiles.

The single most significant factor that made the campaign infinitely more powerful and effective, was the weaponisation of the state, hijacking its power and resources, all made possible by the two investigating officers Sergeant Stevens and Sergeant Duna.

Sergeant Stevens and Sergeant Duna provided the channel and access to the power and resources that the state enjoys and others do not, as well the authority to deploy them, the ability to use the facilities, tech, and personnel, the benefit of providing legitimacy and credibility to the campaign, make the impossible possible, laundering the lies, disguising the crimes and protecting the criminals from investigation and prosecution.

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A CALCULATED ATTACK

The owners had a choice:

Honor the agreement and allow me to recover my investment.

Remove me and steal the premium rental profits.

They chose the latter.

Just days after my arrest, Keith Broad listed the property for sale at R31 million—a R13 million increase in value directly due to my investment.

The Strategy

Their initial efforts were sporadic and uncoordinated. The first illegal eviction by Keith Broad, the owner of 16LR, occurred on December 24, 2021.

With a tenant only nine weeks into a five-year lease, with the rent and utilities paid in full until 2022, and the property refurbished at my expense, what landlord would attempt to eject their tenant? The answers lie in the fact that I had just completed the multimillion-rand transformation, something the owner was aware of as he had his housekeeper spy on me and pass him daily updates as to progress.

Over the next few months, Keith Broad attempted multiple other illegal takeovers of the property. As well as eviction proceedings through the civil courts, with various untrue claims, including that the improvements to the property were tenant damage, that he was neither aware of nor consented to me letting out the property, that no permission to do work had been discussed or agreed upon, and that I was in arrears on rents and utilities.

A key strategy of the campaign has been the willingness to run illegal attempts concurrently with ‘legal’** ones. Switching between them as it suited. While Keith Broad was busy trying to take the property through the civil courts, he was also busy attempting to take the property through various illegal means. When one did not work, switching back to the other.

Further illegal evictions followed, on 27 January and 27 February. And as with those that preceded and followed, the rent and utilities were fully paid. Indeed, as I paid the rent quarterly in advance they were paid up to April 2022.

On March 1, he and GB's husband kicked the front door in, splitting it in two, forced their way inside, and planned to confront and physically remove me. As a result, I obtained a Protection Order from the High Court against Keith Broad, which Keith Broad later repeatedly violated, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant by the High Court. Hout Bay SAPS ignored both the arrest warrant and the attorney letters demanding it be executed.

Separately, and unbeknownst to me, in early 2022, PD the owner of 12 HR stole my passport from the glovebox of the mini cooper I leased from her. She kept it, secretly, with the explicit intention of using it against me, making visa extensions impossible and thus jeopardising my immigration status. Again, to help in future attacks.

The owners realised they had a much better chance if they could work together, pool resources, and coordinate the campaign. They had hired Wouter de Swardt, a “private investigator,” primarily because of his willingness to break any law or moral code, his connections in SAPS/Hawks, and the resulting ability to break the law with impunity, avoiding consequences for him and his clients for the extensive criminality that followed. PD then passed the passport to Wouter de Swardt, who passed it to the Investigating Officer who had been hand-selected by him.

The state would go on to illegally withhold my passport for a year and a half, while using the immigration status against me. And WDS/PD would go on to steal and illegally retain the replacement passport when it arrived [See WhatsApp chat export].

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HE MEDIA SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Media24 played a critical role in the attacks against me, publishing false allegations from my accusers while blocking my attempts to provide evidence.

They printed lies about rent arrears, damage, and unauthorized rentals—despite documents, affidavits, and legal rulings proving them false.

This was not journalism. It was a coordinated smear campaign to justify an illegal property grab.

The Gear Change

The second significant act after the appointment of Wouter de Swardt was for him to go to 16 LR on July 22, 2022, with eight of his “security personnel” (effectively criminal thugs for hire), force their way into the property, and attempt to eject the occupants. The vacationing guests refused to leave.

Presenting himself as “I am Wouter de Swardt of Fox Forensics,” he introduced the men as his security personnel, both on the day and in subsequent court papers.

They were removed by local private security at the time, but they returned two days later on July 24, 2022, and broke in once more. This time, they assaulted housekeepers, ejected them, changed the locks, and squatted.

In response, I filed ‘urgent spoliation proceedings’ to recover the property, and after attempts by Keith Broad to delay matters, the High Court set a date of August 4, 2022. Recognizing that there was no defense for their actions and that I was most likely to be awarded an eviction order against Wouter de Swardt and Keith Broad et al., as well as a High Court interdict against them, and a punitive cost award making Keith Broad liable for both parties' legal fees of 250,000, they responded with another gear shift in the campaign.

[Spoliation was the obvious, natural, and pretty much-guaranteed response to the illegal eviction. With combined legal fees for the matter going to a full hearing being a predictable quarter of a million, the decision must have been made before embarking on the illegal eviction that I would not launch spoliation to recover the property, and or, if I did it could be somehow avoided.]

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ILLEGAL EVICTIONS AND POLICE COLLUSION

With no legal basis to remove me, the landlords and their corrupt allies in SAPS resorted to illegal evictions, intimidation, and fabricated cases.

On December 24, 2021, Keith Broad attempted to forcefully remove me despite my rent being fully paid and my lease still valid for nearly five years.

The same strategy was used again and again, with fabricated claims fueling each new attempt.

The First Illegal Arrest and Wrongful Imprisonment for Strategic Advantage

In an attempt to void, avert, or sabotage the hearing, Wouter de Swardt, Keith Broad, and others embarked on a series of actions, all highly illegal.

They obtained a Protection Order on July 29 based solely on perjury, reversing the parties' roles on the day of the eviction and claiming the landlord Keith Broad was at the property on July 22 and 24, and the assailants were my "henchmen" sent to attack the landlord and his family.

[see the comparison of the applications in the spoliation and protection order matters]

In addition, they combined this with laying entirely fabricated charges on August 1, 2022. The charges were 1) "breaking and entering," 2) theft of three TVs from the property, and 3) malicious damage to the property.

The absurdity of breaking and entering my own home, the theft of three TVs (actually taken by guests and replaced with newer and better ones by me), and malicious damage to a property I had spent millions improving were apparently not factors for the SAPS officers in Hout Bay, ever helpful when it came to accommodating the requests of Wouter de Swardt and Keith Broad.

Nor it seems was the Protection Order application of any concern to SAPS Hout Bay, one they knew to be a lie, having been called to both the 22nd and 24th July illegal evictions. Yet happy not just to sanction the Protection Order but also to serve it on me while in their cells.

I, who was away in Pringle Bay for my first days off in a year, was advised by my attorneys to stay away from Cape Town for my own safety until the hearing was over. Returning on August 3, assuming the window of opportunity to remove me had passed. On August 4, as the parties' attorneys were preparing to do battle in the High Court, Wouter de Swardt and two SAPS officers located me by illegally pinging my phone, broke into the property, and arrested me.

They took me to Hout Bay, where they would keep me for several days before sending me to Wynberg Magistrates Court. Wouter de Swardt and Keith Broad ensured they had motivated the Investigating Officer and, therefore, the prosecution service to object to bail by:

Changing the charge from the theft of three TVs to the theft of the contents of a back room (items which the owners knew to be in safe storage), B) inflating the value of the items from a few thousand to R825,000 so the offense would then become a “Schedule 5” offense, on a par with rape and murder. Thereby, changing the entire dynamic of a bail hearing from one where the onus is on a magistrate to grant bail unless substantive reasons exist to decline it, to one where the magistrate is obliged to deny bail unless substantive reasons exist to grant it, and C) using my immigration status and lack of passport to label me a flight risk and an illegal alien, inferring some nefarious reason and motive for the lack of an extension, even though the very same officer was secretly in possession of my passport.

As a result of these maneuvers, rather than be granted bail as anyone would have expected based on the initial charges, I had to fight a contested bail application, effectively a mini-trial. Suffering three weeks in Pollsmoor Prison (listed as one of the top ten worst in the world), R300,000 in legal fees, and the effective dismantling of the business; with the consortium using the period of incarceration to contact potential witnesses and threatening them with ten to thirty years in prison if they did not testify against me from scripts prepared for them, and sign witness statements written for them. This represented the first of twenty-one occasions they and SAPS managed to engineer arrests, detentions, and court appearances.

The former property manager was so distressed that she instructed her own attorney after being harassed and threatened to the brink of a nervous breakdown because she refused to lie and say she saw fraud when she repeatedly stated that in all her time as the most senior employee, she did not see or hear anything even close to fraud, nor did anyone she worked with. That it was a legitimate operation, acting professionally at all times. This is covered in detail during the recorded conversation and is among the most useful items of evidence as one of the few unbiased individuals.

Against the odds, I won my bail application, and the magistrate was scathing in his summing up about the case, the prosecution, and the Investigating Officer. In particular about the Investigating Officer’s testimony.

FACT FILE

STOLEN PASSPORT, STOLEN JUSTICE

In early 2022, Paula Disberry stole my passport from my car, later handing it to Wouter de Swardt and corrupt SAPS officers.

This was not random. The goal was to prevent me from renewing my visa, making it easier to manufacture legal trouble and limit my ability to defend myself.

The stolen passport was illegally withheld for over a year while my immigration status was weaponized against me.

The Bail

My first comment to my attorneys after being released was that this was just the first such attempt; having almost succeeded in their goals and causing me irreparable damage regardless, they would use the tactic of arrest and detention again. I made it clear that we had a small window of opportunity to head that off, including providing background, context, and information to the prosecution service so that on the next attempt, they would appreciate the motivation and real purpose of an arrest. As the ultimate arbiters of whether bail is objected to, as well as whether charges can be considered for trial or rejected; the NPA’s role as gatekeepers was pivotal.

My attorneys arrogantly dismissed my concerns as paranoia. But did reply that should my claims be prophetic they stated, "We will deal with that when and if it happens.” Well, it did happen, and they did not deal with it.

In the weeks that followed, I made it abundantly clear that I thought the attorney’s reactive strategy was illogical and counterproductive; waiting for an attack ensured that I would suffer significant damage regardless of whether it could then be successfully fought off, as well as significant legal costs in doing so. Being proactive and preventing an attack made far more sense. I was completely ignored.

In October, on Wouter de Swardt's instructions, the owner of 12 HR filed her own malicious prosecution, alleging theft and damage to the property despite a meticulous handover, as well as confirmation at the time that everything was satisfactory, and, most importantly, having a settlement agreement between the parties that meant that all obligations and liabilities in relation to the property had ceased as of September 15.

The goal of laying the false charge was to ensure that when I was arrested again, there would be a “live investigation” on file and an established modus operandi. As a result, the likelihood of bail being denied would be significantly increased.

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THE BOGUS CHARGES

The December 14 arrest was based on three completely fabricated complaints from a year prior—cases that had already been closed with no charges.

When this wasn't enough, they manufactured new allegations on the spot, inflating a minor dispute into a “Schedule 5 offense” (on par with rape and murder) to justify denying bail.

Even after my release, they continued inventing new charges, none of which ever resulted in prosecution.

The Wasteland

After returning to a wasteland, including discovering that my fiancé had stolen my jewellery and fled to Paris, the agent managing the portfolio had stopped accepting bookings, cancelled millions of Rand worth of others, and left, having been told by Wouter de Swardt and the SAPS officers that they were complicit in the operation of a fraudulent enterprise and that she would be indicted and charged with being an accessory to fraud.

I appointed MB to set up an agency to manage the portfolio. An old friend from a few years earlier. This was a further fatal mistake.

One of the main themes that emerge throughout is my vulnerability as a result of the interference with my visa and immigration status. If it had not been for the interference, I would have extended my visa and moved on to the next step, a more permanent form of residency that would allow me to legally manage my own affairs, including the portfolio, which provided direct control over revenue and bank accounts. My vulnerability was due to a lack of it.

Similarly, the bank accounts. The allegation, either that I had agents manage the portfolio or that rents were received into their bank accounts to afford me some kind of protection from blame for a scam, is legally, strategically, commercially, factually, and fundamentally flawed.

The above two issues, the visa, and the agent/bank accounts, are two of the biggest assumptions made that could not be more misjudged or less thought through. The lack of a visa extension was not intentional, and neither did it represent some sinister (yet apparently undeterminable and secret motive) for not extending. The extension was made impossible to significantly weaken me and make me vulnerable on a number of fronts.

The need for an agent was a direct result of the visa issue with me trying to ensure that the portfolio was run at arm’s length lest I be accused of operating a business. Nothing in the visa regulations prohibits a foreigner from having properties and renting them out. Were I to have opened a café, for example, then clearly that would be operating a business and not permitted.

The lack of a South African bank account was the result of the passport theft and the impossibility of obtaining a visa extension as one of the fundamental requirements of opening a non-resident account was a valid and physical visa extension stamp. Impossible in 2021 because visas were extended automatically with no visa stamp provided and impossible in 2022 after my passport was stolen and illegally held.

The combination of the lack of a visa extension, the need for an agent to manage the portfolio, and both the lack of a South African bank account and the need for transactions to be done by the agent acting on my behalf, made what happened possible. Had I had an extension and managed both the portfolio finances directly, it is impossible to conceive how the consortium could have accomplished what they did. They would have had no agents to have leverage over or frighten off with threats, the bookings and the rental income would have been controlled by me, there would have been none of the interruptions and complete cessation of activity between agents, no agent or third party could have held me ransom, no need to constantly re-set up profiles and functionality to operate as a villa business.

By definition of the Pty, I had no direct liability or culpability regardless of agent or no agent, bank account or no bank account. The collection and I were inextricably linked and as one in the minds of everyone so no escaping blame on that score either. There would have been no direct liability regardless of whether there was an agent or not, a bank account under my control or not. So, the situation created by the consortium had all of the downsides and no upsides whatsoever, yet they alleged these factors were intentional.

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SAPS BLOCKED MY ATTORNEY CALLS

After my December 14 arrest, SAPS blocked me from contacting my attorneys for several days, deliberately preventing me from mounting a legal defense.

When I finally reached my lawyer, they confirmed that they would be in court on Monday to challenge my detention—but by then, critical damage had already been done.

The Plots

The consortium, always on the lookout for opportunities, was able to flip my firm of private investigators using the usual lies, as well as offering the potential opportunity available to them if they were able to identify the hidden millions. To add to their motivation, rumours were circulated that I was hiding a suitcase full of black diamonds and cash somewhere in my home.

Again, using greed as a weapon, the private investigator's J.SCH and DD (From ESS), my private security detail ADR, and the agent MB conspired to embezzle 1.2 million Rand over a three-week period. They devised a plan to drug and torture me in order to obtain information about the accounts, their whereabouts, passwords, and any other access information required to transfer the millions to themselves, followed by my murder and the disposal of my body.

They would claim I had fled to spend the millions I had scammed, pointing to the online content as proof. Including the petition, the News24 articles, and all other content. All of which they and the consortium were the authors of, having fabricated the allegations and kept their role as authors very well hidden.

Because the money ESS would be stealing was, in theory, stolen money, it had little chance of being discovered, and even less chance of consequences, because how do you say “someone has stolen my stolen money”? Equally, having embezzled over a million Rand, stolen tens of millions from the bank accounts, and having tortured me to get the bank details, they were not going to leave me alive afterwards. And, with Wouter de Swardt having SAPS in his pocket, there was no way they would investigate the matter of a “scammer fleeing to evade capture.” All of this is documented in a series of videos taken secretly by me of MB's confession.

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MEDIA24’S SILENCE

Despite SAPS, the Hawks, and the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) confirming evidence of corruption, Media24 has refused to report on it.

They eagerly published false allegations against me, yet they have not published a single article exposing the corrupt investigators and landlords behind the case.

This is not an oversight. It is deliberate suppression of the truth.

The Second Illegal Arrest and Wrongful Imprisonment for Strategic Advantage

As December approached, a window of opportunity opened up for the landlords, but it was a narrow one. In early December, the courts confirmed the success of my application for admission of oral evidence, resulting in the November eviction hearing for 16 LR being put back at least six months. Conscious that there was now no ‘legal’ route to take the property, it was agreed to take it illegally.

Similarly, the owner of 32 FB faced comparable time constraints. His friends, who had bought the property from him, arrived in Cape Town in mid-December and wanted to spend the following couple of months at their new home, but the owner had granted me a lease running for at least another year. The only opportunity to take control and attempt to legally validate that retroactively occurred after I paid 250,000 rand towards the next year's rent, which was due on December 1st, and committed to paying the remaining 1,000,000 within seven days. If I had made that second payment, there would have been almost no legal means to take the property or to take it and hope to retain it, as the next full year's rent would have been paid.

All told, there were almost thirty different needs and wants that all led to an arrest being needed during the course of just a very few days in mid-December, and some very specific needs and wishes that necessitated a date as close to the 14th as possible. The arrests took place on December 14, precisely when it needed to.

Considering the leases had begun running some two years earlier, and in the majority of cases had more than two years left to run, an arrest would take place within just a handful of target days in the midst of the almost two thousand that made up the life of the leases, could never be considered a coincidence.

The landlords (consortium) were determined not to make the same mistakes again, and this time, they made sure they had rigged every aspect of the process in an attempt to turn arrest into remand and remand into near-permanent detention.

With the explicit goal of ensuring I rotted in prison, exhausting my will and funds, and thus being represented by a state attorney. Which, in this case, with so many factors artificially manipulated against me, would almost certainly have meant years in jail.

On December 14, a team of armed Special Task Force Officers (South Africa’s version of a SWAT team) blew my enormous wrought iron Parisian bank double doors open and blew and smashed their way up all five stories of my home, entering my principal bedroom, where they arrested me at gunpoint.

The arrest was engineered by taking the three customer service complaints that resulted from Omicron a full year earlier, where despite the considerable pressure applied by Paula Disberry and Wouter de Swardt, the investigating officers had confirmed there was absolutely no case to answer and this was a civil dispute, a file on which there had been no SAPS activity since, keeping that file alive for the last year, then changing the findings to one of fraud. This was so precarious that the request for an arrest warrant was declined repeatedly by magistrates until they found a cooperative one.

This absurd and unnecessary spectacle, for the kind of police operation reserved for international cartel bosses or former presidents, came at a huge cost to the taxpayer, and had multiple purposes: A) It would result in maximum humiliation for me. B) Ensure maximum media coverage to compound that humiliation. C) Create yet another attempt to encourage victims to come forward (of which there were six and not one guest did). D) To provide the ability to quickly search the premises in the hope of (i) finding either the suitcase of black diamonds or cash, (ii) or any other stashed items of value, or (iii) clues as to the whereabouts and access information required for the secret millions. E) Enable them to confiscate all devices, equipment, data, and documents both to (i) facilitate a fishing expedition and (ii) to disable my ability to fight back or prove what the consortium had been doing for the previous year.

Most importantly, F) to divert attention away from the highly illegal, completely unofficial, and clandestine side operation at the other villa in Llandudno, 16 LR, owned by Wouter de Swardt’s client.

No warrant existed either to arrest or access those premises, yet Wouter de Swardt, accompanied by private investigator DD and several police officers, tricked their way into the property, arrested the housekeepers and occupants, handcuffed them, and removed them to obtain possession of the keys and thus possession of the property. Wouter de Swardt took the housekeeper to 32 FB, where I was being arrested, and after I had been driven away, Wouter de Swardt released him without charge.

This is covered in detail in the various recordings with the housekeeper of the property at the time and is arguably one of the most significant pieces of evidence.

In a matter of minutes, Wouter de Swardt had accomplished what no court in the previous year had deemed acceptable or legal in the many proceedings. And done so by bypassing civil procedure and all statutes that provide or afford tenants protection in their homes.

On the way to 32 FB, Wouter de Swardt called the owner of 16 LR, and they were heard congratulating each other and confirming the success of the operation, saying, "We got him. He will not be coming back this time." [see housekeepers’ conversations of April 2023 and July 2023]

Similarly, at 32 FB, after a number of hours on-site, I was eventually taken away (Wouter de Swardt maximizing even that briefing the Investigating Officer to park the car far to the front and parade me around the far side of the car). And like clockwork, five minutes later, the landlord casually walked straight back in, having been informed by Wouter de Swardt that the coast was now clear, and his property was ready for him.

A few minutes later, the landlord's PA and two of his senior staff were all also arriving like clockwork. And everyone went directly into a pre-arranged private meeting with Wouter de Swardt and the housekeeper, to discuss the success of their plan and how they would keep me in Pollsmoor.

The landlord who enjoyed considerable influence at Hout Bay SAPS, was not just fully aware of the arrest but, in fact, had given both the green light and instructions for the arrest to take place. The longer they could keep me in prison, the less likely it was that Wouter de Swardt and the consortium would face any consequences, and the harder it would be to legally reclaim the properties.

This was only the beginning of the ordeal. The police blocked me from calling my attorney for several days, but when I finally got my call, I called my attorney, AG. They confirmed that they would be in court on Monday to represent me, and they sent an attorney to take as much background information as possible.

FACT FILE

THE ILLEGAL DECEMBER 14 ARREST

On December 14, 2022, a Special Task Force (SWAT-style) police unit stormed my home, blowing through five stories of doors before arresting me at gunpoint.

This absurd operation was meant to:

Create maximum humiliation.
Generate media spectacle.
Divert attention from the illegal takeover of 16 Leirmans Road.
Seize all my devices and documents.

At the exact same time, Wouter de Swardt led an illegal, off-the-books raid on 16 Leirmans Road, seizing the property without any legal warrant.

The (Second) Wrongful Imprisonment

On Monday, December 19, I was finally taken to Wynberg Magistrates Court, some five days after the arrest.

For reasons known only to the IO and Wouter de Swardt, I was not taken to court on either December 15 or December 16. But one can assume it was simply another attempt to interfere with justice and prejudice my position.

Given the long history and context of the arrest, as well as the amount of information and evidence I had provided to the attorneys over the previous three months demonstrating the true motivation for the arrest and the fundamental flaws in its premise, obtaining bail should have been relatively straightforward. It was anything but.

When finally called at the end of the day, the court could not find my attorney. A brief search of the building was conducted, and when it was established that they were not present, the magistrate proceeded without them.

The magistrate granted bail to me for 2000 Rand with no conditions attached.

I went to leave. In a panic, Wouter de Swardt directed the Investigating Officer to object to bail. This is where arguably the most significant miscarriage of justice occurred, as well as a fundamental violation of due process.

The Investigating Officer told the prosecution a series of lies, including the claim that:

Five more charges were being added.

Additionally, there were serious issues coming in from Paarl.

I was considered a flight risk, casting doubt on my visa situation and the reason for it.

All of this was made up.

There were no additional charges to be added at that time, nor were there any charges added during the three months on remand or the months that followed.

In terms of the Paarl issues, no one knew what that meant at the time, no one knew what that meant during the three months of incarceration, and no one knows what that means now.

In terms of a flight risk, that had already been adequately addressed and dismissed in the August bail application, and the Investigating Officer had possession of my passport and a replacement passport ever since.

It is revealing that none of the above played a role during the three months of remand or the many attempts by the investigating officer to delay matters at the various appearances.

FACT FILE

WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT

Despite the fabricated charges collapsing under scrutiny, I was denied bail and sent to Pollsmoor Prison for three months—one of the most dangerous prisons in the world.

The plan was clear: Break me down, exhaust my legal funds, and make it impossible for me to fight back.

Even after the prosecution had no case, SAPS deliberately delayed my release to keep me behind bars as long as possible.

Representations to the Senior State Prosecutor

Rather than accept defeat, despite my attorneys pointing out the fundamentally flawed nature of the legally impossible immigration charge, the Investigating Officer refused to drop the charge. He insisted he intended to push for a full trial and used that to justify illegally withholding my equipment, devices, data, and documents that had been seized as part of the arrest pertaining to entirely different charges.

As such, my attorneys decided to go over the heads of SAPS and directly to the Senior State Prosecutor. They submitted incredibly detailed Representations which, on my insistence, included many of the allegations about the consortium, the corruption, and SAPS involvement, as well as the malicious prosecutions, the motivations behind the arrests, and the aims of those arrests. My attorneys thought this strategy was highly risky because of the detailed investigation it would necessitate.

As a result, the Senior State Prosecutor sought an extension of a month in addition to the month allocated to fully investigate the contents and claims within the Representations. After this thorough investigation, the Senior State Prosecutor confirmed they were withdrawing the charge unconditionally.

FACT FILE

SENIOR PROSECUTOR THROWS OUT THE CASE

After months of legal battles, the Senior State Prosecutor withdrew all charges, confirming there was never a case to begin with.

Despite this, my property had been taken, my reputation destroyed, and not one person involved in the illegal campaign has been held accountable.

"Justice is the means by which established injustices are sanctioned."

Anatole France