Die bewysstuk is die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het.

Because both nouns are definite:

• die bewysstuk = the piece of evidence / the exhibit
• die beursie = the wallet / purse

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for the. Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and it also uses die for plural nouns.

So here, both things are specific:

• a specific piece of evidence
• a specific wallet

Bewysstuk is a compound noun:

• bewys = proof / evidence
• stuk = piece / item

Together, bewysstuk means something like piece of evidence, evidence item, or exhibit.

Afrikaans uses compounds very often, so learners should get used to seeing two ideas joined into one word.

Beursie usually means wallet, purse, or small money bag, depending on context.

In this sentence, the intended meaning is wallet.
In other contexts, especially depending on region or speaker, it could refer to a small purse as well.

So the exact English word can shift slightly, but the basic idea is a small item used to carry money, cards, and similar things.

Wat introduces the relative clause, like that, which, or sometimes who in English.

So:

• die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het = the wallet that the suspect stole

In Afrikaans, wat is very common as a relative pronoun, especially after things rather than people.

Because the noun being described is die beursie — a thing, not a person.

• wat is normally used for things
• wie is mainly used for people, especially after prepositions or in more formal patterns

Here, the relative clause refers back to the wallet, so wat is the natural choice.

Because wat starts a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses often push the finite verb to the end.

Main clause:

• Die bewysstuk is die beursie.

Relative clause:

• wat die verdagte gesteel het

Inside that relative clause, the perfect tense is split:

• gesteel = stolen
• het = has

And the usual subordinate-clause order puts het at the end.

So:

• main-clause style: Die verdagte het die beursie gesteel
• relative-clause style: die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het

This is normal in Afrikaans subordinate clauses in the perfect tense.

In a simple main clause, you usually get:

• Die verdagte het die beursie gesteel.
• The suspect stole / has stolen the wallet.

But in a subordinate clause introduced by wat, the finite auxiliary het moves to the end:

• ... wat die verdagte gesteel het

So the order past participle + het is not random; it is caused by subordinate-clause word order.

Because Afrikaans, like English, does not need to repeat the object inside this kind of relative clause.

English:

• the wallet that the suspect stole not normally
• the wallet that the suspect stole it

Afrikaans works the same way:

• die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het not
• die beursie wat die verdagte dit gesteel het

The noun die beursie is already the thing being referred to, so you do not add another object pronoun.

Verdagte means suspect here.

It comes from a word related to suspicious / suspected, so it can look adjective-like, but in this sentence it is being used as a noun:

• die verdagte = the suspect

This is common in Afrikaans: a form that looks adjectival can function as a noun when the context makes that clear.

Formally, it is the perfect tense:

• het
  • past participle (gesteel)

Depending on context, English may translate it as:

• stole
• has stolen

In many ordinary Afrikaans contexts, the perfect tense does the job that the simple past often does in English.

So wat die verdagte gesteel het can naturally mean:

• that the suspect stole

Yes. A passive version would be possible, for example:

• Die bewysstuk is die beursie wat deur die verdagte gesteel is.

That means:

• The piece of evidence is the wallet that was stolen by the suspect.

But the original active version is very natural and usually simpler:

• ... wat die verdagte gesteel het

Afrikaans often prefers the active where English might also accept either active or passive.

Is is the present tense of wees = to be.

Here it links two noun phrases:

• Die bewysstuk
• die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het

So the structure is:

• X is Y

In other words:

• The piece of evidence is the wallet that the suspect stole.

This is a standard linking or equational sentence.

Yes, often it can.

Depending on context, bewysstuk may be translated as:

• piece of evidence
• evidence item
• exhibit

If the setting is legal or courtroom-related, exhibit can be a very good translation. If the setting is more general, piece of evidence may sound more natural.

A useful way to understand it is to split it into two simpler sentences:

1. Die bewysstuk is die beursie.
   = The piece of evidence is the wallet.

2. Die verdagte het die beursie gesteel.
   = The suspect stole the wallet.

Then Afrikaans combines them by turning the second one into a relative clause describing die beursie:

• Die bewysstuk is die beursie wat die verdagte gesteel het.

That is a very helpful pattern to recognize when reading Afrikaans.