George - Former South African president Mr P.W. Botha stormed out of court yesterday after his trial on charges of ignoring a subpoena to appear before the country's truth commission was postponed to June 1st. The postponement was granted against the wishes of Mr Botha (82), whose lawyer read out a statement from him saying that the delay was "totally unacceptable because it will result in untested allegations being sent out into the world".
The statutory Truth and Reconciliation Commission wants to question him about claims that his government knowingly tortured and killed anti-apartheid activists. Before the postponement, Mr Botha was overheard telling his legal team that he thought the case should proceed. "This case was set down for four days. Come, let's go on."