Missing man found in Pollsmoor

NEARLY two months after sparking a full-scale search following his mysterious disappearance, Basil Erasmus was found in Pollsmoor Prison.

Erasmus was last seen in March, taking his girlfriend to the Shell garage in Belgravia Road, Athlone, and since then nobody knew of his whereabouts until private investigator Willem van Romburgh broadened his search.

Van Romburgh said when he first started working on the case, he checked for Erasmus in various prisons, but the results were inconclusive.

As part of his ongoing investigation, Van Romburgh said he obtained Erasmus’ fingerprints to check the Pollsmoor system and that of other prisons. After a while, he received a call informing him that Erasmus had been sentenced and was in Pollsmoor.

“When we saw the information that was captured on their system, we were amazed to see that he was captured as Bazil, instead of Basil. To make sure that we had the correct person, his brother went to go and identify him,” said Van Romburgh.

Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said what they captured was provided by the inmate. “We cannot refuse admission of inmates when a warrant of detention is presented. We admit them even when an identity document is not provided.

“Notifying the family can only be done at a police station when a person is detained. As DCS, we do not call families as we only incarcerate people through an order of the court or magistrate,” said Nxumalo.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila had admitted to being in arrears with child maintenance and was sentenced to six months’ direct imprisonment.

However, when it came to the misspelling of his name, Ntabazalila said the fault did not lie with them. “When a person is arrested, police take that person to a police station for a docket to be opened so that it can be taken to court. The prosecutor cannot prosecute a case without a docket.

“Also, when an accused appears in court, the presiding officer asks him/ her whether he/she will hire a lawyer or will request a lawyer provided by the State. If he was denied (permission) to contact a lawyer or family, the problem at hand would not be directed to the NPA,” said Ntabazalila.

Erasmus’ brother Carl said the family was relieved that he was okay and alive, but he was also disappointed that Erasmus’ ex-wife knew all along where he was but neglected to inform the family of this when the missing person’s alert was sent out.

“She allowed us to think that he was abducted, or possibly even lying dead somewhere. I am not certain why she would send an unemployed man to prison for outstanding maintenance, knowing very well that he will support his child when he does get a job. But now, with a criminal record it would be even harder for him to find employment.

Erasmus said he gave the correct name and was not given an opportunity to call his family. “When they booked me they did not look at my court docket that had the correct spelling of my name. Every single time I asked if I can call my family, they kept saying ‘not now’,” Erasmus said.

He said the experience was nerve-wracking and he was treated like a criminal, despite his prison card stating he was not there for criminal charges.