KFC trio ‘likely to interfere’, court hears
Three of the five men accused of assaulting a black couple in Pretoria denied bail.
Three of the five accused are likely to interfere with investigation – magistrate.
Three of the five men accused of assaulting a black couple at a KFC in Pretoria were denied bail yesterday because a court ruled there was a likelihood they would interfere with witnesses, evidence and investigations.
Stephan Nel, 39, DJ van Rooyen, 21, and Joshua Schultz, 21, will remain in custody, facing charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and pointing of a firearm. The trio and two others allegedly attacked Dudu and Jacob Sono in Montana earlier this month.
Their co-accused, Marius Harding, 23, who has pending cases of assault against him, had abandoned his attempt to get bail. Ockert Muller, 20, was granted bail earlier this month.
Magistrate Motlhoki Rapulana reminded Schultz’s lawyer, Francois Kriel, that he had presented confidential medical reports of the victims’ injuries before the court – a clear indication that they had interfered with investigations.
“[Schultz] was already in possession of the [medical report] by the complainant. Kriel put it on record that he received information from Montana Hospital. If you are released, wouldn’t there
There was public outrage. This happened before the accused applied for bail, not after.
Motlhoki Rapulana Magistrate
be a likelihood of interfering with investigations? You received this information while in custody. If released, won’t the scale of getting more information be higher?” Rapulana asked.
The attack, caught on video and circulated on social media, created a public outcry, with many labelling the incident as racial.
Despite the defence arguing that the outcry was from a small group of people, Rapulana said those people represented the community.
This included social media posts, media reports and a Twitter post by Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula.
“The fact is, there was public outrage. This happened before the accused applied for bail, not after.
“What would be the position if they were released on bail? Releasing them would undermine the public’s confidence in the justice system.”
The bail ruling caught the attention of the National Prosecut- ing Authority, who were represented yesterday by spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku.
“We believe the decision was in the interest of justice to ensure that all such incidents that are racially motivated are addressed by the state so that they do not delay our social cohesion,” said Mfaku.
“This verdict is not a punishment. The fact that the court has taken into consideration the seriousness of the offence and the public outcry, it will send a message to would-be attackers, whether racial or not, that these kinds of incidents won’t be tolerated.”
The matter was postponed to September 14 for further investigations. –