Afrikaans singer Jurie Els on Wednesday told the High Court in
Pretoria his molestation accuser, Robbie Klay, vowed revenge after
a fall-out in 2005.
Els testified he and his wife, former high jump champion Hestrie
Cloete, had confronted Klay "about all of his lies" and had taken
back his car.
"He was livid. He threw the keys onto the table, looked Hestrie
in the eyes and said he was not done with us. We would hear from
him again," Els said.
"That was the end of the conflict. We thought it was our last
sight of Robbie Klay... Here I'm sitting today. It was not."
Els testified that Klay's career had started floundering by then
and he could not even afford the R2000 per month he had to pay Els
for his car. Els offered him a job transporting and assembling CDs
for his record company.
Els said he had lost his temper with Klay when Hestrie jumped in
to help with the assembly of the CDs and Klay just stood back and
watched. He told Els he was Robbie Klay, did not pack CDs and that
Hestrie could do it.
"I lost my temper about his arrogance. I pointed out to him that
Hestrie had been a high jumping champion for four years and that
work was beneath no-one," he said.
Another cause of conflict was Klay approaching him at the end of
2004 to pay for a birthday party for Klay's daughter.
Els offered to pay half. When he later asked the girl's mother
about the party, she told him they were Jehovah's Witnesses and did
not believe in children's parties. She said Klay had lied to him.
Els said he also found out that Klay had lied to his mother,
telling her he only paid R1000 per month for the car, secretly
withdrawing another R1000 from his mother's bank account to make
the payment.
This had resulted in Els and Hestrie confronting Klay, taking
back the car, with Klay making his threat.
Burying the hatchet
Els and Hestrie thereafter decided to bury the hatchet with Klay
and invited him to their wedding, attended Klay's CD release party
and invited him to have dinner with them. They also bought him a
puppy.
When he told Klay he and his wife were moving to New Zealand in
2008, Klay had "sent them a friendly message", wishing them all of
the best, Els said.
Els, a former English teacher whose career took off after he won
an Afrikaans television music quiz show, testified Klay lied to him
about his age about two minutes after they first met in 1997.
He remembered being shocked, as Klay's mother was with him and
did nothing to correct him. He 11 at the time, but said he was 10.
Els, who worked for record company BMG at that stage, had
offered Klay and his mother a five-year recording contract,
stipulating that Els would act as director for Klay's albums, as he
did for several other well-known local artists.
Klay's first two albums were reasonably successful, but his
career started failing after stories appeared in the press about
his illegitimate child, which he had fathered at the age of 15.
The trial continues.