OVER a year has passed since a man confessed to his role in the high profile murder of Maties student Inge Lotz , yet he has still not been charged.

Lotz, a Stellenbosch University student, was stabbed and beaten to death in her Stellenbosch flat on March 16, 2005 .

The man, a convicted criminal currently serving time in Pollsmoor Prison for an unrelated crime, confessed his role to a magistrate shortly after the murder took place.

He said that while he was not personally involved in the killing, he was there the night it happened and has also given investigators the names of four other people involved, yet no arrests have been made.

In April last year, the man repeated his confession to East London-based private investigators Christian Botha and Daryl Els of Christian Botha Investigations .

“He’s confessed to his role in the murder and has given evidence which he would not have known without being there,” said Els.

He added that the State may be delaying the matter because if they charged the man it may mean they would have to pay out millions of rands to Lotz’s boyfriend, Fred van der Vyver, who was charged and acquitted of the murder.

Van der Vyver has instituted a R46million lawsuit against the police for wrongful arrest.

Van der Vyver’s father, Louis , a tomato farmer outside East London, said that once the man was charged fingers may be pointed at the police. “The police’s dilemma now is if they come up with the real murderer it means they were wrong and basically admit their guilt in arresting Fred,” he said.

Els said it would also mean that the lead investigating officer in the case, Director Attie Trollip , was wrong in arresting Van der Vyver and could face charges.

Els has already laid charges against Trollip for defeating the ends of justice and perjury. He said Trollip allegedly destroyed evidence linking the suspect to the crime. “They will also have to revisit all his old cases, like the Knysna one where a DJ was arrested and convicted for killing two women. I believe he was also wrongly convicted.”

In response to queries, regional communications manager for the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Sandy Godlwana, said: “All I can say at this stage is that the whole Lotz murder is still being investigated by the police and once the investigation is completed, a holistic approach will be adopted in coming to a decision, including the allegations made by (the man) in the past.”

Lotz’s father and mother, Jan and Juanita Lotz , are still pressing ahead with an R8m civil suit against Van der Vyver for causing their daughter’s death. Attempts to contact them for comment were unsuccessful. - By ANDREW STONE

Senior Reporter