High jump champion Jacques Freitag murder trial delayed as accused asks for state funded lawyers

The murder trial of disgraced former attorney Rudie Lubbe and his ex-lover Chantelle Oosthuizen following the alleged murder of former World Champion high jumper Jacques Freitag was on Monday postponed to Thursday.

It is the pair’s first appearance in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, after their case was moved from the lower court.

The two were arrested in 2024 by police in Sabie, Mpumalanga, at a hideout in one of the guesthouses following a manhunt. Police had obtained warrants of arrest for Lubbe and Oosthuizen, who were believed to be on the run at the time from the law following the discovery of 42-year-old Freitag’s body. The champion had allegedly been shot.

Lubbe and Oosthuizen are facing charges which include murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Freitag’s body was discovered near the Zandfontein cemetery in Andeon, in Pretoria. The discovery was made by the SAPS Search and Rescue Team, which comprised SAPS units such as the Air Wing, Water Wing, K9 unit, and the local police.

Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, shortly before his body was discovered, took to social media platforms such as X and Facebook to report that her brother, was missing.

Lubbe was struck from the roll of attorneys in 2006 following various allegations, including stolen trust money, which were levelled against him. He was at a stage one of the defence attorneys in the high-profile Boeremag treason trial.

According to the charge sheet, the accused conspired with Freitag to kill Oosthuizen’s fiancé, Louis Harmse, before allegedly shooting him to death. According to the prosecution, Lubbe approached Freitag “to get rid” of Harmse, whom he claimed abused Oosthuizen.

It is claimed that Lubbe offered Freitag R50,000 to get rid of Harmse. Freitag apparently tried to get rid of Harmse by hitting him with a brick. Although he was seriously injured, he did not die. Lubbe allegedly started paying Freitag in instalments by the time the high jump champion was found dead.

Lubbe, meanwhile, during a bail application, said he had shot Freitag in self-defence and thus he will plead not guilty to the charges against him when the matter goes on trial.

While the proceedings were supposed to kick off on Monday, the court was informed that Lubbe did not have a lawyer to handle his defence. Legal Aid South Africa on Friday indicated that it will no longer assist him with an attorney.

This is after Lubbe, shortly after his arrest, was represented by an independent attorney, for which he had to pay himself. Legal Aid, the court was told, thus concluded that he could afford his own attorney.

But the court was told that it was a lawyer-friend who had assisted him previously. Lubbe said on Monday that he cannot afford to pay for his own attorney. Legal Aid will now have to do a means assessment - which means that it will have to investigate Lubbe’s financial situation to determine if he did qualify for state-funded aid. The matter will be back in court on Thursday to determine the way forward. Both accused remain in custody following failed bail applications.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za