Leader of right-wing ‘Crusaders’ hate group faces life in jail after terror conviction

The Middelburg High Court in Mpumalanga has requested a pre-sentencing report sentencing right-wing extremist pastor terrorist Harry Knoesen.

The leader of the white supremacist National Christian Resistance Movement, known as the Crusaders, was convicted on terrorism and weapons charges by Judge Johanna Mthimunye on Monday, 6 June in the Middelburg High Court.

Initially, Knoesen pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial started on 28 April. The prescribed minimum sentence for terrorism is life imprisonment with an additional minimum sentence of 15 years for soliciting the support of others to carry out terrorist attacks.

Sentencing proceedings had been set down for this week. However, Mthimunye postponed the matter to 27 July for a pre-sentencing report to be submitted.

National Prosecuting Authority Mpumalanga regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa explained the pre-sentencing report will help the judge to take into account Knoesen’s personal circumstances, the seriousness of the offences and the interests of society.

Knoesen had planned an insurrection with the Crusaders from December 2018.  

On 28 November 2019, hours before the attack was to take place, Knoesen was arrested.

It was the damning testimony of Riana Heymans, a former member of the Crusaders who was Knoesen’s social media manager, which helped the State to secure a successful conviction.

Court documents reveal that extreme perceptions of farm killings, threats from Black First Land First (BLF) and EFF leader Julius Malema’s song “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer”, drove the plot to overthrow the government. 

Knoesen had also explored the possibility of using a biological weapon to infect and kill black people.

Against this backdrop, the court needs to deliberate over the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case. 

After Knoesen’s arrest in November 2019, BLF leader in Mpumalanga Elias Makwana laid also charges of incitement to violence, high treason and crimen injuria against him.

On Friday, 17 June, BLF leader Andile Mngxitama told Daily Maverick those convicted of racism should be jailed for at least 20 years. “The sentence imposed should act as a deterrent and send a message that racism will not be allowed in this country. We also need to quickly bring about tolerance and criminalise acts of racism,” Mngxitama said.

BLF, incidentally, was ordered by the Equality Court in March to apologise to South Africans and pay a R50,000 fine for vilifying white people in social media posts that constituted hate speech. 

Knoesen’s fate will be determined once the proceedings resume on 27 July 2022. DM