To the prosecution, who had pointed out to her that the magistrate court did not have jurisdiction to hear the bail application according to Section 104, Rushike told them that, according to Section 60, Sub-section 3, she had the power to hear the application adding that the case was far from committal stage. “So Section 104 is not applicable and the magistrate has jurisdiction to hear this application,” she said.

Rushike went on to grant bail conditions to the three accused persons, Sibongile Nyoni, 61, Daniel Joseph, 40, and Paul Joseph, 44.

The bail conditions required that each accused person signs a P6 000 bond, bring an independent surety and report at Gerald Police Station every Tuesday. The magistrate said that she was aware of the fact that this was a serious charge that carried a maximum sentence of capital punishment. “That, on its own, can induce the accused to be scared to come to court as required,” she said. She also looked at the fact that the accused people, especially Nyoni, were old and chances of their absconding ranged from slim to none.

Rushike said that all the accused were Batswana residing in Tati Siding. According to the charge sheets, the three accused persons murdered Tshepo Mereyotlhe at Phusumane Ward in Tati Siding on August 29 this year. They will appear before the court again on October 27 for mention.