Amputee might get justice

Flippie Engelbrecht is epileptic, a double amputee, blind and helpless. But not for long.

An army of top lawyers and a retired judge have vowed to be Engelbrecht's hands and eyes as he takes on the men who allegedly caused his disabilities.

Yesterday, Engelbrecht, 19, came face to face with his alleged attackers in the Ashton Magistrate's Court, Langeberg, Western Cape.

Engelbrecht said that in January 2008, when he was 15, he was attacked by the owner of a wine estate and his farm manager.

At the time, Engelbrecht's father, Flip, worked at the farm. The men, who are said to have had a fight with Flip, allegedly banged his son's head against a wine tank. He was rushed to Tygerberg Hospital, where his head was operated on.

After the operation, he said, he became blind and developed epilepsy.

Last year he had a seizure and fell into a fire. His hands were so severely burnt that they had to be amputated.

Johannes Marthinus and Wilhelm Treurnicht appeared in court yesterday and their case was remanded to August 28.

The case was struck off the court roll in 2008 because of lack of evidence and witnesses.

It was re-instated after the NGO Freedom Trust approached the provincial police management.

Engelbrecht stopped attending school in Grade 9, with his dreams of becoming a police colonel and a Stormers rugby player shattered.

One of Cape Town's top legal minds, William Booth, has taken up his case.

"I've been asked to give advice on the criminal case and liaise with the director of public prosecutions to ensure that Engelbrecht gets all the [legal] help," said Booth.

• Justice Alliance, an NGO headed by retired British judge John Smyth , wants to help Engelbrecht as well. The law firm Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes has been appointed to help Engelbrecht pursue a civil case against the farmer.