Staff Reporter.
The six men accused of killing whistleblower Babita Deokaran will have to wait until later this month to find out if their bail bids have been successful.
They made a brief appearance at the Johannesburg Regional Court on Thursday.
State prosecutor Steve Rubin and attorney for the accused Peter Wilkins agreed that the bail application judgment should be set down for December 20 to give the court enough time to consider the affidavit read on behalf of Nhlangano Ndlovu, who is accused no. 3 in the matter.
At a previous appearance, a dispute arose as to whether Ndlovu – was South African or Zimbabwean. Apparently, he told the police he was Zimbabwean when he was arrested but now denies this.
On Thursday, an affidavit from his mother confirming he was born in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal, was also read into the record.
Magistrate Sipho Sibanyoni said he will go through the affidavit.
Deokaran was gunned down outside her home in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg, in August in what appears to have been a hit. Nothing was stolen and Deokaran was a witness in various graft probes – including the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation into dodgy personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders worth R300 million.
The suspects currently before court – Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Radebe, Ndlovu, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Simphiwe Mazibuko and Sanele Mbhele – were arrested less than a week later and are facing charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, and attempted murder.