By A Correspondent
Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – A South African apartheid soldier who crashed his helicopter at a safari farm near West Nicholson, and then buried the wreckage, was beginning a three-and-half year jail term Friday.
A millionaire Fredrick Wilhelm August Lutzkie, 52, admitted a string of immigration and aviation violations.
Lutzkie, who was arrested at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport on Monday, was a “stranger and a danger” to Zimbabwe, magistrate Vakayi Chikwekwe said during a sentencing hearing at the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
Chikwekwe said: “Mr Lutzkie is a real stranger and danger to this country. He smuggled money into the country and set up businesses without the knowledge of the relevant authorities.
“A person who smuggles cash and invests in a country Nicodemously can also smuggle it out of the country.”
Lutzkie’s trial on Thursday opened with him pleading guilty to 14 charges relating to illegally entering Zimbabwe several times, violating the country’s airspace and fraudulently getting his passport stamped.
Chikwekwe sentenced him to six months in jail for each of the 14 counts for a total of seven years, but conditionally suspended half of the sentence.
Lutzkie, who was last week branded a “national security threat” by a minister, went down in his MD500 chopper on the 30,000-hectare Doddieburn Ranch on May 5 while flying to South Africa, said Michael Reza for the state.
He had flown just four kilometres when the helicopter went down.
The court heard that he did not report the accident to the authorities within 24 hours as required by law. He went on to dig a deep pit using an excavator, buried the wreckage and returned to South Africa.
The wreckage lay undiscovered underground until authorities were alerted about the accident on May 20. The helicopter wreckage was dug up and the ranch sealed off by the security services.
Reza said during the period extending from February 1 to 28, Lutzkie flew his chopper from South Africa and landed at Doddieburn where he runs a game farm for rich foreign trophy hunters who come to shoot wild animals.
He was flying without permission from the Civil Aviation of Zimbabwe (CAAZ). Lutzkie also failed to follow immigration formalities, including presenting himself to border control officers and getting his passport stamped.
He also exited the country without the knowledge of CAAZ and immigration authorities.
Following the crash, Lutzkie fraudulently acquired an entry and exit stamp at Beitbridge border post to create the impression he had been cleared to enter the country.
Lutzkie told court that he did not fraudulently acquire an exit stamp but his passport was stamped after he was made to pay R30,000 by an immigration official who said it was a fine for violating the Immigration Act.
The court heard that an immigration officer who stamped the passport has since been arrested and will appear in court shortly.
Bulawayo lawyer, Vonani Majoko, representing Lutzkie, painted a picture of a businessman who had brought development to the communities of Gwanda and West Nicholson.
Burying the helicopter wreckage was the right thing to do, the lawyer argued.
“He buried the wreckage in a pit because as an engineer, he was aware of the danger the wreckage would have caused to passersby. It had fuel, and because of the forced landing, it was likely to explode,” the lawyer said in mitigation.
“While in South Africa, he sent an email to the authorities in Zimbabwe informing them of the accident and where he had buried the wreckage. He also showed mercy upon the villagers in Gwanda, that’s why he used his helicopter to drive away the elephants,” he said.
“There is nothing that can stop the court from presuming that he could have been smuggling precious stones or even weapons. While he is rich as he claims, he cannot be seen to be ignorant to the laws of this country,” Mr Chikwekwe said.
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