‘I'm no white mischief murderer’

DAVID ROSE







LONDON

Until dusk began to fall across the vast Kaross estate in Namibia, 27 February 2021 had been like any other summer Saturday.

Owned by British technology multi-millionaire Harvey Boulter, the estate covers 65 square miles of remote grassland and bush and has been described as ‘an absolute game paradise’, home to lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and giraffes.

Boulter (51) had spent the afternoon holding court at a spit-roast lamb braai in the shade of a camelthorn tree in the main compound – a sprawling complex with a four-bedroom guest house, eight chalets for estate staff, a large indoor dining hall and the businessman’s own home with private swimming pool.

Sitting on canvas loungers, shooting the breeze and drinking cans of lager were his guests: An American (whom Daily Mail has agreed not to name) and four members of the Van Wyk family who worked for Boulter.

Over the years, estate manager Gerhard (54), his wife, Alta (also 54), their son Gerhard Jr and his new wife, Liani (both 25), had become close friends with their employer.

Until about 19h30, witnesses agree, everything seemed peaceful. “Super calm,” Boulter says in his first public utterance on the tragedy that would later unfold.

“A group of friends hanging out and talking the usual bullsh*t. I don’t know what went wrong, what started it, and I ask myself that question 10 000 times every day.”

The details of what followed are hotly disputed, but could result in Boulter being jailed for life for the murder of his estate manager, a South African Army veteran.

It has been reported that there was a row over an ‘indecent proposal’ allegedly made by Boulter to a female guest.

Van Wyk sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen and died en route to the regional hospital more than 100 miles away.

The fatal shooting made news around the world. Boulter is a well-known and controversial figure who has lived in Hong Kong, Dubai and the US.

For the media, there were intriguing elements, too, of the infamous 1941 murder in Kenya of the Earl of Erroll that shone a spotlight on the ‘White Mischief’ life of wealthy, philandering expats.

Released on bail last month after a hearing in Outjo, 116 miles from his estate, Boulter – who had initially been jailed but was in hospital before his release – has made no statement. Until now.

But in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, he breaks his silence – and insists that he is innocent.

‘Tragic accident’

Van Wyk’s death, he claims, was a tragic accident that traumatised him. The Mail has also obtained legal documents, revealed here for the first time, and spoke to key witnesses.

Ultimately, the matter will be resolved by Namibia’s legal system. The country’s chief prosecutor will decide next month whether to put Boulter on trial for murder.

In the meantime, Boulter wants the world to know there is a case for the defence. “Gerhard was one of my closest friends – I regarded him as family and I’m devastated by his loss,” he says.

“Right now, I’m in the fight of my life. But I believe evidence will emerge that will show the truth.”

Boulter is no stranger to publicity. In 2011, when he was living in Dubai, he revealed that then British defence secretary Dr Liam Fox had been travelling the world with his friend - and best man at his wedding - Adam Werritty.

Werritty had been present at a business meeting between Fox and Boulter purporting to be a government adviser when he was nothing of the kind. The resulting furore forced Fox to resign.

Later, Boulter funded a Ukip candidate to the tune of £30 000 to stand against Fox in his North Somerset constituency, while Fox sued Boulter for libel over remarks he’d made in a TV interview and for questioning his integrity.

The case was settled before trial in 2014 and Boulter had to apologise and pay Fox damages and legal costs.

At the time, Boulter’s company, Porton Group, had become vastly successful adapting and marketing civilian applications for new defence technology developed by the MoD labs at Porton Down.

In 2016, Boulter moved from Dubai with his family – his ex-wife Leonorah and their three children – to Washington DC, where his main focus was encrypted communications. The couple had divorced the previous year.

He bought the Kaross estate in 2012 – it is now worth “between £10 million and £20 million” – and employed the Van Wyks to manage it.

After the breakdown of his marriage, Kaross became his main home. “Whatever happens, I want to stay in Namibia,” he says.

“I have the right to permanent residency and it’s a beautiful country with a people I love.”

‘Very special bond’

The Mail has obtained a transcript of Boulter’s bail hearing, which was held over several days in May.

Van Wyk senior’s sister-in-law Nerina de Jagger gave evidence and told the court that Boulter and the Van Wyk family shared “a very special bond”.

She added: “Eight and a half years they lived and worked on the farm together and they built something truly special.

“They went from being employer/employee, but then outside of that relationship developed a very beautiful kinship… they shared and lived on that farm as a family – they had a lot of respect for Mr Boulter and they loved him very dearly.”

As De Jagger said in court, Boulter paid – and is still paying – for the Van Wyks’ daughter Michelle to study veterinary science.

He also employed Gerhard Jr – whom Boulter says he regarded “almost as my own adopted son” – and when he married his high school girlfriend Liani last year, Boulter found a job for her, too, and paid for their three-week luxury honeymoon.

At the time of the shooting, he was building them a house at Kaross.

Maybe this bond explains why De Jagger told the court that the family had asked her to say they supported Boulter’s release on bail.

By the time of the hearing, the tycoon had been in custody for almost three months.

‘It was perfect’

It is clearly a complex case. So, what exactly happened that night, according to Boulter and others present?

By 19h30, the party around the braai had finished with the lamb, according to domestic worker Claudia Kaross.

“I went out and asked if they’d like dessert,” she told the Mail. “Harvey said, ‘yes, please bring it’, so I went to tell the chef. There was no sign of anything wrong. It was perfect.”

Chef Raymond Thourob had made a carrot cake. “From the kitchen, I could hear their conversation,” he says.

“I was only a few yards from the braai. I suddenly sensed the atmosphere was tense. I heard their voices getting louder. [Gerhard Jr] was throwing insulting words and then the father [Gerhard Sr] was too.”

According to subsequent newspaper reports, Boulter had made an indecent proposal – that in return for the house he was building for Gerhard Jr and his bride, she should sleep with him. Boulter utterly refutes this claim.

Thourob and Kaross insist they did not hear this comment. “Mr Harvey would never in his life say something like this,” Thourob said. “He had the utmost respect for [Gerhard Jr] and Liani.”

This might be dismissed simply as a show of loyalty from two members of staff still employed by Boulter.

But to date, legal sources in Namibia say no allegation that Boulter asked Liani for sex has been made in any legal document.

– Daily Mail

(This article has been shortened)