By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members linked to the murders of Hawks investigator Frans Mathipa and two others are released on bail with strict conditions.
Last week, both the defence and the State presented their closing arguments in the murder case.
The 12 are also charged with the alleged kidnapping of an Ethiopian national and alleged ISIS leader, Abdella Abadiga, and his bodyguard in December 2022. Mathipa was investigating Abadiga’s disappearance when he was gunned down in August 2023.
The State has opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations the 12 face, emphasising that they are highly trained military personnel and, if released on bail, could endanger witnesses.
However, the lawyers for the accused have argued that most of them are breadwinners and their families depend on them. The lawyers further submitted that, as SANDF officials, they serve SA and its interests and will never betray the country by evading trial.
The magistrate said the state’s case at this stage is weak and relies on circumstantial evidence.
She said the state has no evidence that the 12 accused will intimidate state witnesses. And she also cast doubt that the accused are a danger to the public.
She said for the fact that the accused handed themselves over to the police and surrendered their passports during their arrest shows that these are not actions of people who intend to flee the country.
The magistrate gave the accused strict bail conditions. They are barred from contacting the state witnesses or use other people to contact them.
The passports of the 12 accused were handed to the investigating officers during their arrests.
The magistrate postponed the case to July 17 for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to bring its application of leave to appeal the bail judgement.
NPA regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the NPA is disappointed by the bail outcome.
“As the prosecutor has indicated [in court], as the National Prosecuting Authority, we have an appetite to appeal the court’s decision to release them on bail,” said Mjonondwane.
Mjonondwane dismissed the accused’s claims that the state’s case is weak.
“We’re not yet at the trial stage where we have to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt. The proceedings before the court were on a balance of probabilities.”
“Part of the information that we submitted was to dismiss their allegations about the person that they allegedly killed; about him changing from one place to another, and also changing identity. We dismissed that there was no supporting evidence to support what they were saying,” Mjonondwane explained.
“As the NPA, we have submitted a comprehensive affidavit stating how each accused is linked. We have a case to that effect, as well as corroborating evidence to support the charges regarding those two that they allegedly kidnapped at Mall of Africa – whose whereabouts we don’t know as the state, and we can only come to the conclusion that they were allegedly killed.”