‘Love inferno’ lands ace detective in court

ONE of the country’s top Police detectives, Detective Inspector Michael Booysen, arrested on charges related to the burning down of his girlfriend’s flat at the Windhoek Central Hospital, appeared in court yesterday.

He was refused bail and will remain behind bars until next month. Booysen, who has served with the Namibian Police Force for many years and is currently second in command of the Serious Crime Unit, made a very brief first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on charges of attempted murder, arson and malicious damage to property.Finding himself on the other side of the law, a neatly dressed Booysen appeared unmoved by the court proceedings as he peered over his glasses in the dock of Court B.Prosecutor Vanessa Stanley immediately asked Magistrate Tuyenikelao Haikango to postpone the case until September 27 for further investigation and that Booysen remain in custody until then.Booysen’s legal representative, Johan van Vuuren, agreed to the terms, saying a bail application would be lodged later.It is alleged that Booysen set fire to a girlfriend’s flat when their relationship turned sour.According to the Police Public Relations Division, Booysen is believed to have fired at least four shots on his arrival at his girlfriend’s apartment, suspecting that she was hiding from him, before he allegedly set the seventh story flat alight.The woman was not home at the time and no one was injured.Adjacent flats were, however, damaged by the blaze.The Police confirmed that Booysen’s girlfriend had filed complaints against the officer over the weekend for damage to property and attempted murder.As a Police officer, Booysen played a pivotal role in the recent manhunt for the Jones brothers accused of murder, armed robbery and kidnapping.The pair escaped Police custody in June, sending Booysen and his colleagues on a wild goose chase before they were eventually re-arrested at the Fish River Canyon.Last month, Booysen successfully tracked down and arrested two men two years after a farm murder in the Dordabis area.In 2002, he was involved in the arrest of two men for the brutal slaying of a retired Okahandja goldsmith, Ludwig Wojatschek.His investigative skills also led to the conviction of two Karasburg residents in 2000 for the murder of farm owner Andries Lotter and an employee Josef Jantjies at the farm Goibib between Keetmanshoop and Grünau.Booysen’s successes extended to investigations of the biggest armed robbery in Namibia to date in which a gang stole N$5,3 million from a cash-in-transit vehicle at Brakwater near Windhoek in November 2000.Booysen, who has served with the Namibian Police Force for many years and is currently second in command of the Serious Crime Unit, made a very brief first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on charges of attempted murder, arson and malicious damage to property.Finding himself on the other side of the law, a neatly dressed Booysen appeared unmoved by the court proceedings as he peered over his glasses in the dock of Court B.Prosecutor Vanessa Stanley immediately asked Magistrate Tuyenikelao Haikango to postpone the case until September 27 for further investigation and that Booysen remain in custody until then.Booysen’s legal representative, Johan van Vuuren, agreed to the terms, saying a bail application would be lodged later.It is alleged that Booysen set fire to a girlfriend’s flat when their relationship turned sour.According to the Police Public Relations Division, Booysen is believed to have fired at least four shots on his arrival at his girlfriend’s apartment, suspecting that she was hiding from him, before he allegedly set the seventh story flat alight.The woman was not home at the time and no one was injured.Adjacent flats were, however, damaged by the blaze.The Police confirmed that Booysen’s girlfriend had filed complaints against the officer over the weekend for damage to property and attempted murder.As a Police officer, Booysen played a pivotal role in the recent manhunt for the Jones brothers accused of murder, armed robbery and kidnapping.The pair escaped Police custody in June, sending Booysen and his colleagues on a wild goose chase before they were eventually re-arrested at the Fish River Canyon.Last month, Booysen successfully tracked down and arrested two men two years after a farm murder in the Dordabis area.In 2002, he was involved in the arrest of two men for the brutal slaying of a retired Okahandja goldsmith, Ludwig Wojatschek.His investigative skills also led to the conviction of two Karasburg residents in 2000 for the murder of farm owner Andries Lotter and an employee Josef Jantjies at the farm Goibib between Keetmanshoop and Grünau.Booysen’s successes extended to investigations of the biggest armed robbery in Namibia to date in which a gang stole N$5,3 million from a cash-in-transit vehicle at Brakwater near Windhoek in November 2000.