Fiancée tells of torture by the police
Magistrate says state’s case weak
The fiancée of one of the four men accused of a cash-intransit heist in Soweto has claimed that police also tortured her during the arrest.
This was revealed at the Roodepoort magistrate’s court where Errol Velile Present, Itumeleng Manama, Bheki Biyela and Zakhele Zondi were granted R4 000 bail each on Monday.
The four are facing charges of attempted murder, armed robbery and the possession of suspected stolen vehicles.
Sithembiso Radebe, Zondi’s fiancée, detailed how she was tortured by the police in their bid to get evidence about the heist. Radebe told Sowetan she was assaulted and kept in custody while police ransacked her home.
“I was tortured on two occasions. The police came to our home and tore my place apart while they looked for money from the heist or guns that were used,” Radebe said.
She said she had lost hope during the two-month bail application and thought her husband-to-be would be behind bars indefinitely.
“They were trying to frame him. You heard what the magistrate said. The police didn’t find anything linking them to the heist. They [police] even took me in while I was on my periods and didn’t even allow me to take a pad with me. And [they] told me I will have to use toilet paper,” Radebe said.
“I am happy he’ll be home tonight. I don’t think I’m going to cook anything for him because we need to go out and celebrate this victory.”
Zanele Present, Velile’s wife, said she was happy her husband got bail.
“We are obviously relieved that he has been granted bail, but that’s as much as I am willing to say right now. I do not want to jeopardise the case going forward,” Zanele said.
Magistrate John Baloyi ruled that the state’s case was weak or nonexistent after prosecutors failed to prove that the four were behind the Dobsonville cash-in-transit heist in July. “The state failed to provide tangible evidence. The identification parade was scheduled and the witnesses could not place the accused at the scene of the crime.
“There was no CCTV footage available and the blood samples collected from the vehicle recovered could not be linked to any of the accused and there was no money, firearms found in the accused’s possession.”
The matter was postponed until October 30 for further investigation.
‘‘ Cops tore my place apart looking for money from the heist