Convicted wife beater fled SA using friend’s passport

A convicted wife-beater, Jaco Swart, allegedly escaped from South Africa to the UK using a friend’s passport to exit the country via Lebombo border post.

Swart is well known in South Africa, where a video went viral last year showing him shockingly abusing his estranged wife. For that case, he received only a suspended sentence and a R20,000 fine.

This time it is alleged that Swart slammed a door on a female police officer, causing damage to her tendon, on the morning of 13 January 2022. The officer had been called by her neighbour for help, because her friend Swart was apparently intoxicated after a night out, and was refusing to leave her flat. He also allegedly locked the security gate at one point so the woman couldn’t leave either.

That’s when the police officer put her hand through the security gate and told Swart not to close the door. Despite this, and knowing she was a police officer, he allegedly used force to slam the door on her arm, causing the damage.

The police officer – who is being represented in court by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit – called for police backup, and Swart eventually left the property.

Swart was not present at Kuilsrivier Magistrates Court this morning… because he has allegedly fled the country. According to reports, Swart has been living with family in England, working in Slough, and posting photos of his adventures to Instagram.

Today Advocate Gerrie Nel brought an application to have the matter postponed in Swart’s absence OR have a warrant of arrest issued because he has fled SA.

Nel called on Warrant Officer Riaan Booysen to explain to the court why a summons could not be served on Swart. Booysen is the investigating officer in an unrelated fraud matter against Swart. During that investigation he established that the suspect used a friend’s passport to leave South Africa through the Lebombo border post, before making his way to the United Kingdom.

Extradition too much paperwork!

Booysen told the court that he had consulted with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) about a possible extradition of Swart, but he was told that it was too difficult to do because it amounted to “a lot of paperwork”. 

Nel argued “not only is this a clear example of dereliction of duty by the NPA, but a shameful failure of the complainant. This failure of the NPA now burdens civil society and private prosecutors with the duty to ensure that justice is done, and that guilty people cannot escape prosecution because it is too cumbersome to ensure their attendance in court.”

Just like Thabo Bester case

Nel argued that ensuring an extradition was not outside the capability of the state, and referred to the recent Thabo Bester matter which saw senior government officials and politicians travel abroad to bring that accused back to the country. The only difference between the two cases is that the Swart matter has not received the same media attention as the Bester matter, he said.

The matter was postponed to Monday, 21 August, for judgment.