'It's disgusting' - co-accused of nurse who allegedly forced woman to eat faeces deny involvement
14 August 2019
Two women, who appeared in court with a Cape Town nurse for allegedly forcing a woman to eat dog faeces, have denied any involvement in the "disgusting" incident.
Princess Gopie and Porcha Jonkers appeared with Elizabeth Williams, a theatre nurse at Tygerberg Hospital, and two others, Amber Booysen and Desmond Alexander, in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, following the pair's arrest this week.
The court heard Williams had tendered her resignation on August 5 with a 24-hour notice period citing "personal reasons".
Her resignation was rejected.
Prosecutor Laurentia Morkel read a letter from the health department stating Williams would have to face a due disciplinary procedure.
The hospital's head of administration, Philip Wolfaard, was called as a witness and he told magistrate Bukiwa Sambudla that Williams had to give the department at least one month's notice.
Should bail be granted, she faced possible suspension for bringing the hospital into disrepute, he said.
She could also face disciplinary action if she is reported to the South African Nursing Council.
Williams, dressed in a blue tracksuit and looking dejected, is accused of forcing Ivodene van Niekerk to eat faeces after accusing her of sleeping with her boyfriend, "Jubie".
She, together with Gopie and Jonkers who allegedly lured Van Niekerk to Williams' house, is charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and intimidation after Van Niekerk laid criminal charges on July 26.
Two videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media.
On Wednesday, Booysen and Alexander joined the three in court after being arrested and released on Tuesday.
One is understood to have been heard talking in the second video, while the other is believed to have recorded it.
Gopie and Jonkers are each out on R1 000 bail.
The two told News24 Jubie was their friend and a known ladies' man.
"Deur Jubie se kak is ons nou in die kak [Because of Jubie's shit, we are now also in the shit]," Gopie said.
Jubie, or Franco Booysen, is understood to be back in jail for violating his parole conditions in an unrelated incident after the attack on Van Niekerk.
Gopie and Jonkers denied any involvement in the crimes for which they have been charged, saying what had happened was "disgusting".
They claimed they had wanted Van Niekerk to do their hair and nails for a wedding and had not tricked her into going to Williams' Elsies River house.
There, Van Niekerk was allegedly forced to drink two "abortion pills" and pricked on the finger for a blood test to test for HIV or a sexually transmitted disease.
Williams is accused of threatening Van Niekerk with her two dogs, saying in Afrikaans they would "bite out your vagina".
Van Niekerk was beaten with a knobkierie and forced to eat dog faeces from a clear bag after being warned not to vomit "because her kitchen is clean".
Afterwards, Williams reportedly took the two dogs and Van Niekerk to Jonkers' house and got into an argument with Jonkers, also for allegedly sleeping with her boyfriend.
She then allegedly assaulted Jonkers with a dog chain. Jonkers said she almost lost consciousness when Williams allegedly tried to strangle her with it, but Gopie intervened.
Williams allegedly took the dog faeces that she had brought with her, threw it on the ground and made Van Niekerk eat it again.
Van Niekerk had also been hit with a knobkierie.
Judgment in Williams' bail application is expected on Monday.
