By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Two men accused in the murder of former boxing world champion Zolani Tete have been denied bail by the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court.
Uzuzole Goqwana and Sinebhongo Qase appeared in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The pair are among four men facing eight charges linked to Tete’s murder. The two men accused of carrying out the shooting have already abandoned their bail applications.
Tete was gunned down outside his home in Mdantsane last month. Another person was wounded in the shooting.
Mdantsane Magistrate Anton Pretorius ruled on Friday that Goqwana and Qase had failed to establish the exceptional circumstances required for their release in a Schedule 6 case.
Pretorius stressed that in Schedule 6, detention until trial is the norm, while release on bail is the exception.
Goqwana’s defence argued that his continued detention at Westbank Correctional Centre was inhumane and unsuitable given his medical condition.
The defence also argued that transferring him to St Albans Correctional Centre would prejudice his ability to consult with his lawyer and prepare for trial, as the facility is more than 300 kilometres away.
But Pretorius found Goqwana’s medical condition did not amount to the exceptional circumstances required for bail.
The magistrate acknowledged that the conditions at Westbank were inadequate for Goqwana, but found that this did not mean that his continued detention would necessarily cause him serious prejudice.
Qase’s defence argued that he was not in Mdantsane when Tete was shot and he had no knowledge of any plan to have the former boxer killed.
He also denied knowing the State’s witnesses and said he would not interfere with them.
His defence maintained that the State’s case against him was weak and that his release would not destabilise the community.
Pretorius, however, found that the defence had failed to demonstrate that the State’s case was sufficiently weak to justify bail.
The State argued that Tete’s murder was a transactional killing and urged the court to look beyond Goqwana’s physical disability when assessing the potential risks posed by his release.
The State further alleged that, on the day of the murder, Goqwana withdrew R12 000 and gave the money to Qase.
The prosecution also placed the impact of the killing on Tete’s children before the court, arguing that although they were not physically injured, they suffered severe psychological trauma.
Pretorius found that Goqwana’s physical disability did not eliminate the possibility of witness interference and concluded that there was a substantial risk in this regard.
Goqwana and Qase will remain in police custody and are expected back in court on 13 October, when the matter resumes alongside their two co-accused.