De Zalze fence didn't make the buck stop‚ says Van Breda's lawyer

An unsuspecting buck‚ and possibly its friend‚ became digital exhibits on Tuesday in the High Court in Cape Town‚ where Henri van Breda is on trial for the murder of his parents and brother.

Piet Botha‚ Van Breda’s defence counsel‚ shared footage from infrared cameras at De Zalze estate in Stellebosch that showed a buck on the one side of the fence ... and later on the other side of the fence at the luxury estate.

“The buck could have gotten over the fence without triggering the alarm‚” argued Botha.

But Judge Siraj Desai accused him of speculation‚ saying there was no way of knowing if it was the same buck.

State witness Marcia Rossouw‚ security manager at De Zalze where the murders took place‚ said there were many animals in the area.

When Botha presented another “possible” scenario of someone cutting the mesh of the fence‚ digging a hole and climbing through‚ Desai reverted to the humour he has displayed often during the eight-day-old trial.

“You would have to be a midget to get through there‚” he said.

Botha explained the possible scenario again‚ saying the first strand of electrified fence was at 25cm‚ and “it is as simple as that”. Desai responded: “You mean as difficult as that.”

Botha also showed footage of another incident in which a panga-wielding man tried to get through the fence but was thwarted by guards who had seen him on the thermal camera.

Desai responded: “I was expecting some colourful language.”

The case continues‚ with the next witness being from the ambulance service.