Fury as murder accused are granted bail

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday February 14, 2017 16:05

 

They allegedly tied a rope around Aaron’s neck and suffocated him before they threw his body into the overflowing Shashe River. It is believed that the trio’s business deal went awry.

Sub Inspector Kenneth Edward told the court that investigations into the matter are almost complete adding that they are awaiting the postmortem results, which upon receiving they would send the matter to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for assessment of evidence.

“We apply for the accused to be remanded in custody because they are likely to be harmed by relatives and people who knew the deceased if they are granted bail. Tempers of the deceased’s family are still high as seen by the high presence of people who came to court today,” said Edward.

Makobo’s attorney Oratile Koonne applied for his client to be granted bail saying that it appears the only ground submitted by the prosecution to deny the accused bail is that the deceased’s relatives and members the public may harm them.

“I therefore submit that it’s not sufficient to deny the accused bail. Of paramount importance is whether the accused may appear in court as and when required to do so. The prosecution has not said that the accused will not attend court as and when needed once granted bail. The prosecution has also stated that the investigations in the matter are almost complete and we submit that there is no way the accused will temper with the police investigations,” said Koonne.

Ntaisi also pleaded with the court to grant him bail citing ill-health.

He added: “The conditions in jail are not good for my health since some inmates smoke cigarettes in my presence. The place is also overcrowded and not conducive for my health.”

Magistrate Kaveri Kapeko granted the accused bail on condition that they each pay P1,000, they each bring one surety who shall pay the same amount. The accused were ordered not to interfere with state witnesses, appear in court when required to do so and report at the Tonota police station every Tuesday during working hours. The successful bail application by the accused did not sit down well with the relatives some of whom were seen crying hysterically while some people hurled insults at them.

The police had to disperse a crowd that was gathered in front of the court before the accused boarded a police van that was parked there.

The accused are due in court on February 27 for status report.