By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court has denied murder accused Victor Majola’s application to summon the State to show CCTV footage linking him to the murder of slain media personality Warrick “Dj Warras” Stock.
Majola has been in the dock applying for bail since Tuesday.
He had made an application on Wednesday requesting that the footage be brought to court.
This followed allegations that Majola is seen in the footage with an unidentified gunman, loitering around Von Wielligh Street in Johannesburg’s CBD about 45 minutes before Warras was gunned down.
On Thursday, his bail application was stood down for 14:00 by the Johannesburg Magistrate Court.
During the proceedings, Majola’s attorney, Dumisani Mabunda, began his closing arguments on Thursday afternoon.
Mabunda requested the court to order the state to show video footage it claimed shows Majola with the alleged shooter on the day of the incident.
He said that showing the footage would strengthen the state’s case and assist Majola in his bail application.
“We highlighted the importance of this footage so that it can be brought forward to court to assist with the bail application for the sake of fairness. This court should conduct a judicial evaluation of the various factors in the interest of justice,” said Mabunda.
Magistrate Annalise Tlhapi ruled that the CCTV footage capturing the murder does not need to be presented in court.
Tlhapi said Majola’s bail application was not a trial.
“The issue of the video footage, whether it is available or not, does not shift the onus on the applicant. The applicant has to prove two things: firstly, exceptional circumstances; and secondly, that those exceptional circumstances permit his release on bail, in the interests of justice.”
Mabunda made a last attempt to convince the court why his client should be granted bail.
He stressed that Majola – accused of orchestrating Warras murder – would be prejudiced if bail was not granted.
However, state prosecutor Vincent Mochabela said the onus was on the defence to prove exceptional circumstances that supported Majola’s release.
“The state is not required to present evidence in rebuttal until the applicant for bail has presented a prima facie case for his release,” said Mochabela.
“The applicant has not established a prima facie case for his release. The state requests that the court refuse the application of the defence. We are dealing with a sensitive matter. We don’t want the footage to circulate because it will compromise our case.
“The footage is not readily available at this stage. The burden is on the defence to convince this court that exceptional circumstances exist for their client to be released on bail.”
Mochabela stated that the assertion that the state was relying solely on the video footage was false.
“We’re not relying on the footage only. We have an eyewitness who made a statement. A formal identification parade was conducted during which the said eyewitness identified this person [Majola],” said Mochabela.
“There is also circumstantial evidence. There are photos of the deceased, particulars and motor vehicles of the deceased which were found inside the phone of the accused.”
The matter has been rolled over to Friday, 16 January to allow the state to conclude its closing arguments and the magistrate to rule on the bail application.