Allegations of tik abuse, codeine smuggling and stormy affairs have surfaced because the demise of ex-Bok and pharmacy magnate Hannes Strydom.
It seems that just lately deceased former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom have been hiding fairly just a few skeletons in his cabinet…and as they arrive tumbling out, the sordid particulars of his alleged secret life paints an image of a rugby star stripped of all his glory.
The 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning Bok died when his Toyota Hilux bakkie crashed right into a minibus taxi as he was travelling to Pretoria on the N4 outdoors Witbank in Mpumalanga on 19 November.
One passenger within the taxi was additionally killed and 4 others severely injured.
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Hannes Strydom: ‘Darkish depths and the satan’
At his memorial service which was held this week Wednesday, his estranged spouse, Nikolie, touched on the “darkish depths” Strydom was reportedly going by way of in the course of the previous 4 years.
“The satan actually got here to steal Hannes away from us in 2019. However I can guarantee you the satan wasn’t capable of steal away my and the youngsters’s love for Hannes. We continued to assist him and encourage him and likewise berated him. He would get indignant with us, however we at all times confirmed our love in the direction of him,” Nikolie was quoted as saying by Netwerk24.
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Hannes Strydom’s alleged hyperlink to codeine-smuggling syndicate
This after Rapport reported final Sunday on shock claims that the 58-year-old businessman, who owned the Pharma Valu group consisting of a number of pharmacies and a pharmaceutical wholesaler based mostly in Pretoria, allegedly profited handsomely from a codeine-smuggling syndicate.
Earlier than his demise, Carte Blanche aired an episode in October which centered round the exact same allegations which Strydom vehemently denied.
The Carte Blanche investigation, featured former Pharma Valu staff who accused Strydom of being the mastermind behind an operation wherein hundreds of bottles of codeine-based cough syrup – destined for the black market – have been allegedly bought beneath the counter.
Lavish way of life and quick automobiles
The earnings of the unlawful gross sales allegedly bumped into thousands and thousands which, in accordance with the claims, funded his flashy way of life.
In response to the publication, Strydom owned three properties in Pretoria and Cape City, bought between 2004 and 2011 for a mixed worth of R48 million.
The previous Bok with a necessity for pace (and allegedly tik) additionally didn’t maintain again when it got here to forking out on a number of costly automobiles which featured the likes of a Porsche Cayenne and a Ferrari.
The key lifetime of former Bok lock Hannes Strydom
In response to the report, a number of former staff, male lovers and acquaintances made the next shock claims about Strydom.
The claims have been substantiated with video, photographic and documentary proof offered to Rapport.
- The previous rugby hero allegedly typically smoked or snorted tik (methamphetamine). One particular person stated he used the drug with Strydom regularly.
Rapport is in possession of 10 photographs that present Strydom smoking what seems to be a “tik pipe”. These embrace a “selfie” he took of himself smoking the tik “lollie” at Pharma Valu’s head workplace.
- In response to two of Strydom’s buddies of greater than 30 years, in addition to two former colleagues, he behaved like a “typical tik person”, displaying psychotic and aggressive behaviour.
- After a quarrel with one in every of his the boys he had an extra-marital affair, Strydom was captured on CCTV cameras vandalising his ex-lover’s enterprise with a can of spray paint.
- He allegedly suffered from a “persecution advanced” and put in tons of of safety cameras in his pharmacies to regulate his staff.
- In 2019, Strydom was ordered by the court docket to take away 21 safety cameras at his mega mansion in Waterkloof, Pretoria, following an pressing court docket software by his spouse, Nikolie.
The couple, who have been already estranged, have been nonetheless nonetheless dwelling collectively at that stage.
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Rugby glory days: Strydom and the ‘Class of 1995’
Strydom performed 21 Checks for the Springboks and represented Transvaal and Northern Transvaal domestically.
President of SA Rugby Mark Alexander described Strydom as “one of many nice locks of his technology” and “one of many heroes of our native recreation”.
“He was a hard-working lock who by no means shied away from getting caught in and doing the soiled work.
The well-known “Class of 1995” – which received South Africa’s first Rugby World Cup title on dwelling soil in opposition to New Zealand’s All Blacks – has now misplaced six of its members: Strydom, Coach Kitch Christie, flank Ruben Kruger, scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen and wings James Small and Chester Williams.