The State has formally charged the leader of the National Christian Resistance Movement (NCRM), Harry Knoesen, with planning to engage in terrorist activities.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says he and two co-accused appeared in the Middelburg Regional Court in Mpumalanga on Friday.
In December last year the 60-year-old Harry Knoesen, the 55-year-old Eric Abrams, his 49-year-old brother Errol and the 54-year-old Riana Heymans were arrested for allegedly planning to engage in terrorist activities targeting African communities.
A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Sipho Ngwema says during Friday's court appearance the charges against Heymans were withdrawn.
He says the status of the indictment of the Abrams brothers will be made known at their next court appearance on the 22nd of October.
Knoesen faces charges of terrorism and alternatively treason. (Contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities (POCDATARA) Act).
His arrest followed an extensive two-year intelligence-led investigation into the alleged terrorist plot apparently coordinated by the Crusaders group to target national key points, shopping malls and informal settlements.
Ngwema says it is alleged that Knoesen had developed a deep-rooted hatred for the non-racial democratic dispensation established under the auspices of the South African government and in particular for Africans.
He sought to justify his beliefs on religious grounds, claiming that God had ordained that he should re-claim South Africa for white people.
Knoesen, who is a retired pastor and former SANDF member established the NCRM, also known as the Crusaders and appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief, giving himself the rank of General.
In order to solicit support for the organisation and to recruit members, he created a Facebook account where he uploaded videos to spread his propaganda.
It is alleged that Knoesen also established contact with other conservative groups which did not accept the current non-racial democratic dispensation. These groups, however, did not advocate using violence or other unlawful methods to achieve their objectives.
As the membership of the organisation grew, Knoesen began holding meetings at various places throughout the country.
He too will be back in the Middelburg Magistrates Court in October.
