heat refutes Bolhuis claims

Thursday, 5 March 2009 12:59

The saga of Joostgate deepened today when heat magazine refuted Mike Bolhuis’s claims made in his report submitted to his client Joost van der Westhuizen. The bouncer turned private investigator who had been hired by Van der Westhuizen informed the media of what he called some of the key facts of the report, although the full report was not made public. Bolhuis claimed that he had interrogated the girl in the video and had also questioned two brothers in Pretoria, who had admitted that they made the video.

Bolhuis claimed that the “mystery blonde” had given him a sworn statement that she didn’t know Joost and didn’t remember the name of the man who had been in the video with her. Bolhuis never elaborated on what these people’s motives were for making a video featuring two unknowns, or how a video featuring two unknowns could be used to blackmail Van der Westhuizen.

According to world-renowned expert Dr Len Jansen, a forensic voice identification, tape analysis and authentication specialist, the Joost videotape supplied to him for detailed analysis is authentic.

In an official report presented to heat magazine’s attorneys two weeks ago, Dr Jansen states: “I can declare with certainty that no tampering has taken place nor has anything been changed to the sound on the tape as originally recorded with the video. I have analysed every millisecond of the sound signal for both continuity of waveform as well as spectral content (with spectrograms). I did not find any indication whatsoever of tampering or that anything has been changed on the original recording and I am therefore convinced that the recording is still exactly the same as originally recorded.”

Setting the record straight, heat editor in chief Melinda Shaw confirms today that she was in contact with the source of the video last night, and that they denied that Bolhuis had been in touch with any of them, including the girl. The source called Bolhuis’s latest story “rubbish”, said Shaw.

“I would really like to see a photo of Mr Bolhuis’s girl – we know what the real girl looks like, her face is on the video, and she has other distinguishing physical characteristics that are captured on the video too,” Shaw said. She confirmed that the real people behind the video weren’t all in Pretoria, which is where Bolhuis claims his culprits are based. “I don’t know who Mr Bolhuis spoke to, but it was definitely not the people who made the original 8mm digital video tape that is currently in our lawyers’ vault.”