Serial offender awaits jailbreak judgement

Sharon Mathala | Friday July 11, 2014 14:33

 

The 52-year-old is alleged to have fraudulently broken out of prison in July 2012 and spent a year on the run in South Africa, from where he was extradited before appearing in court last month.

Charged with escape from lawful custody and multiple vehicle theft charges, Chibiya last month told Magistrate Joy Brown-Norman that then Regional Magistrate, Lot Moroka, was responsible for his absence from prison.

Yesterday, armed soldiers once again surrounded the Magistrate Court as Chibiya appeared before Brown-Norman and again laid the blame on Moroka, who is now a High Court judge.

“The court needs Moroka’s committal warrant which he did not write. The issue here is about Moroka’s record processing,” he said.

 Chibiya also pointed an accusatory finger at the prosecution saying “they keep changing their submissions, which is not helping the case.”

“The time I spent outside prison is not my problem,” he said.

In his previous appearance, Chibiya claimed he was originally sentenced to 10 years for 2005 charges which involved 44 counts of motor vehicle theft. He said he appealed these down to five years and was released on July 28, 2012.

He said while serving his original sentence, Moroka further convicted him on separate charges in 2010 which he unsuccessfully appealed in 2012.

“When I finished my sentence in July 2012, I was never furnished with a committal warrant for the new conviction and hence I was released,” Chibiya told the court.

“I even appeared at the High Court a month after my release and this cancels out the assertion that I escaped from prison.

“If indeed I had escaped, why did they not arrest me when I appeared at the High Court? I was with the same prosecutor and the police officers here in court today.”

Chibiya added: “If I indeed escaped, I would have been arrested. They are trying to protect the faults of the then regional magistrate Lot Moroka.

“I do not keep myself in prison and I do not write the committal warrant. It has nothing to do with me. Moroka should have written and submitted it, not me.”

The State maintains that Chibiya fraudulently escaped from prison and spent a year on the lam.

“There was no fault; a committal warrant was made. I will not go much into his escape because I fear it will jeopardise our case and investigations.

“This is a very serious matter. The accused person knew he was supposed to be in prison,” State prosecutor, Priscilla Israel said previously.