May 13, 2008, 11:00
The President of the Witbank, Mpumalanga-based rugby union, the Pumas, has defended their selection of convicted murderer Gert van Schalkwyk. Hein Mentz says Van Schalkwyk is innocent until proven guilty.
Mentz has been hauled before the Parliamentary Sports Portfolio Committee to explain why they selected a criminal who was convicted in an incident that has been largely viewed as racist.
Van Schalkwyk and three of his school friends were sentenced in 2005 by a Pretoria magistrate to 12 years imprisonment for assaulting and killing a homeless man.
Members of the committee have lambasted Mentz for his insinuations, after he told the committee that Van Schalkwyk could run for deputy president of the country, because he is still innocent. The 22-year-old Van Schalkwyk is appealing against his conviction.
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