UNESWA murder accused student denied bail
MBABANE – The UNESWA student who allegedly killed his ex- girlfriend will write his examinations behind bars after the court yesterday dismissed his bail application.
Nicky Nhlanhla Boois (24) of Thunzini allegedly stabbed Nonduduzo Mabuza with a knife once in the chest and three times in the back.
It is alleged that after causing the death of his former girlfriend, the accused took her (Mabuza) phone and used it to call and threaten her new lover. In dismissed his bail application, Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini found that there were no exceptional circumstances warranting Boois’ release from custody. Instead of releasing him on bail, Judge Dlamini directed the Social Welfare Unit within the Correctional Services to liaise with the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) in making all necessary arrangement for the accused to sit for his examinations as might be determined by the learning institution in collaboration with the Correctional Services Department.
ENSURING
The court further ordered the Social Welfare Unit at the Correctional Services to take all reasonable steps in ensuring that Boois had access to all his study material and afforded sufficient time to study.
In his judgment, Judge Dlamini said the court was called upon to determine the question of whether enrolment at the university qualified the accused to refuge under the provision of ‘exceptional circumstances’. The court said it was an undisputed fact that many accused persons arrested for crimes listed in the Fifth Schedule had their own peculiar circumstances.
“Some are successful businesspeople, some are employed in prominent positions in the private and public sector, some are single parents responsible for their families; some are school-going, some are community leaders and some have leadership roles in their respective denominations. The list is endless. These examples are personal circumstances and there is nothing exceptional or ‘unique’ about such circumstances,” said Judge Dlamini.
UNIQUE
The court said, the personal circumstances relied upon by Boois were normal and not unique. He highlighted that if anything, the personal circumstances outlined by the accused only demonstrated that he was academically gifted or that his intelligence quotient (IQ) was on the high side and as such, he was able to enrol at UNESWA for a Bachelor of Science Degree. The court pointed out that being arrested for the crime of murder was a natural reaction of the police attributed to Boois, either rightly or wrongly. Judge Dlamini said the allegations that were made by the accused were, in the court’s view, not sufficient to find a case of ‘exceptional circumstances.’
“In coming to the conclusion that the accused has failed to establish exceptional circumstances as envisaged in Section 96(12) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, the court was persuaded by the averments he made in his founding affidavit. The accused placed himself at the scene of the crime,” said the court.
OFFENCE
In his founding affidavit Boois, stated that: “I was there when the offence occurred but I did not even assault the victim.”
The court noted that the offence which the accused alleged he was present when it was committed was that which caused the death of his former lover.
“The court accepts the fundamental and constitutional principle that all accused persons are innocent until they are proven guilty by a court of law. This principle entails that under normal circumstances; courts should be slow to deny bail to accused persons who deserve. In the present matter, however, the court is of the view that the interest of justice will not be served by granting the accused bail for the reason that he has failed to establish the existence of exceptional circumstances in his bail application,” said the court.
The accused was represented by Mlotshwa while appearing for the Crown was Mbutfo Mbingo from the chamber of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).