Louis Fourie

Louis Fourie (1971 - 1999)

Brief overview:

Louis (28), the owner of a fishing and backpackers hostel, was shot and killed by three police officers in a case of mistaken identity, when the police were called out concerning a home invasion on the premises, on 13th December 1999.

Louis was found lying in bushes a few hundred metres from his Coffee Bay home early that morning. He had been shot twice. Sixteen spent R4 cartridges and three 9mm cartridges were scattered around his body.

Police spokesman Superintendent Marinda Mills said the three, a 37-year-old inspector, a 36-year-old sergeant and 31-year-old constable, all from Coffee Bay, all admitted their involvement in the shooting and subsequent cover-up. “It seems that Mr Fourie was shot during the pursuit of the alleged housebreakers in the area and was mistaken by police as one of them,” she said. “From the beginning investigators had a hunch that police officials had been involved with Mr Fourie’s murder,” Supt Mills also said.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • Louis was killed barely four years after his grandfather, Jan, was stabbed to death in the Fourie’s home, also in Coffee Bay.

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • The accused were expected to appear in the Mqanduli magistrate’s court, and police would oppose bail.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Identity Number : 7111055041089
• Cause of Death : Haemorrhage bullet wound chest injured heart.

Louis, who was the son of former Springbok rugby star Private, had been married four months prior to his death to his British-born wife.

Speaking to reporters from his Uitenhage farm, Polla Fourie said the arrest of the policemen had come as no surprise. “I told the investigators right from the start that the police were involved with my son’s death. Not only because they had all been out together looking for the criminals who had fired shots that night, but also because the last vehicle on the scene was a police car.”

When asked if he was pleased that someone would finally be brought to justice for his son’s murder, Mr Fourie said: “It is difficult to be pleased when your son has been murdered.”

Links to Media articles:

• Original report: By Michelle Pughe-Parry. Source: The Herald Online
• https://archive.is/UIrYu
• https://archive.is/VQ9XP