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MBABANE – Acting Mbabane Principal Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati has dismissed Delawai Gazi’s application to be acquitted and discharged.
Gazi is the Bangladeshi national who is accused of killing his countryman, Sawar Hossain, at Parkview Heights.
He was granted bail in the amount of E50 000.
However, he was rearrested for being in the country illegally just as he stepped out of prison after being granted bail. The Bangladeshi was charged for allegedly breaching Section 14 (2) of the Immigration Act 17 of 1982 in that he failed to produce valid documents permitting him to be in the country.
Murder
In the murder case, Gazi filed an application to be acquitted and discharged in terms of Section 174 (4) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act of 1938. The section provides that, if at the close of the case for the prosecution the court considers that there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence charged or any other offence of which he might be convicted thereon, it may acquit and discharge him.
Acting Principal Magistrate Vilakati dismissed Gazi’s application to be acquitted.
Meanwhile, his contention was that he was in the country in respect of the bail conditions which also served as a court order. He stated that he believed that every person, who was kept in prison, was at the King’s mercy. He told the court that there was no way he could have applied for a temporary resident while in prison. He also submitted that he was not employed in prison. As a result, he told the court that there was no way he could have applied for a work permit as if he was employed at the institution. 0 order.
However, in response to the application, the Crown contended that the intention of the legislator when enacting the law was to regulate the entry, the remaining of foreigners in Eswatini and their exit. The Crown submitted that evidence had pointed out that Gazi’s passport expired in 2020 and also that his work permit expired sometime in September 2019. The Crown also pointed out that in terms of the immigration laws, there was no legal document submitted by Gazi allowing him to remain in the country.
The Crown further submitted that the law provided that Gazi would have sought assistance from his relatives or employer to apply for the renewal of his documents so that he could remain in the country after his release from prison.
Acting Mbabane Principal Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati considered the submissions from both parties.
Unlawfully
However, he noted that Section 14 (2) (c) of the Immigration Act stated that any person who unlawfully entered or was unlawfully present in Eswatini was in contravention of the Act. Vilakati considered the evidence where both the defence and the Crown admitted that Gazi lawfully entered the country using his passport which was stamped at the border.
The judicial officer ruled that the claims that Gazi unlawfully entered the country fell away. He also considered the evidence of Chief Immigration Officer Makhosi Simelane where he informed the court that the ministry had no records of departure for Gazi, meaning he was unlawfully in the country.
Vilakati therefore dismissed Gazi’s application for acquittal. The court ruled that Gazi had a case to answer. However, Gazi abandoned his defence.