Man stabs another, goes for cleansing, bail denied
MBABANE – The High Court has refused to grant bail to a man who stabbed another and rushed to Lavumisa to cleanse himself.
The court wondered why Bonginkosi Dlamini did not hand himself over to the police immediately after stabbing his friend, Sihle Gama, several times with a home-made knife at Barrika Bottle Store at Fairview, Manzini.
When the offence was committed, Dlamini was out on bail on a charge of murder. For the stabbing of Gama, Dlamini was charged with attempted murder.
When Gama was stabbed, he was said to have made a funny comment, which Dlamini did not appreciate and they fought. In his application for bail, Dlamini informed the court that he and the complainant had since smoked the peace pipe.
He told the court that soon after the incident, he travelled to Lavumisa in the Shiselweni Region to perform a cleansing ritual to rid himself of all traces of criminality following the stabbing of Gama.
“The applicant acknowledged that, seen from an incorrect perspective, his travelling to Lavumisa may be misconstrued as evading arrest, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Police
“In fact, applicant averred, he wanted to arrange with the police to convene a meeting with the complainant where the proverbial peace pipe may be smoked,” said Judge Zonke Magagula in his judgment.
Dlamini told the court that he and Gama found common ground in the matter on their own. He submitted that he was arrested just before he got to know that the police were looking for him in connection with the offence.
He informed the court that he was about to hand himself over to the police. The accused said he cooperated with the police and assisted them during their investigations.
Dlamini told the court that he was entitled to be granted bail as the presumption of innocence until proven guilty operated in his favour. He submitted that he would plead not guilty. The accused argued that he was warding off an attack on his person.
Dlamini told the court that exceptional circumstances warranted his release from custody. He further submitted that he would miss his appointment with an eye specialist at Mbabane Government Hospital. Dlamini stated that he desired to consult a dermatologist for a skin condition he was suffering from.
The Crown opposed Dlamini’s bail application. Detective Constable Hlatshwako, who investigated the matter, said Gama was keen on having the matter prosecuted and he assisted the police in locating and apprehending Dlamini, who had evaded arrest for eight months.
Hlatshwako said his investigation led him to Dlamini’s elder brother, who advised him that the former had relocated to the Republic of South Africa soon after the commission of the offence.
The investigator informed the court that after his arrest, Dlamini failed to cooperate with the police to the extent that he refused to produce the knife used in the commission of the offence.
The police officer pointed out that Dlamini was out on bail on a charge of murder. He said the accused failed to comply with his bail conditions in the charge of murder and he was no longer reporting to the police periodically, such that he could not be served with notices requiring him to attend the pre-trial conference. Hlatshwako argued that it would not be in the interest of justice to grant Dlamini bail.
Arrest
Judge Magagula considered the period between the commission of the offence and Dlamini’s arrest.
“By his own admission, the applicant immediately left for Lavumisa after the stabbing of the complainant to perform some cleansing ritual and he does not explain how long the ritual took and/or why he did not hand himself over to the authorities upon his return or why it was more important to perform a ritual than to deal with such important legal issues,” said Judge Magagula.
This, according to the court, clearly demonstrated that Dlamini did not intend to surrender himself to the police. If granted bail, the judge said, Dlamini was likely to evade or attempt to evade trial.
“The court should not rule out the real possibility of the applicant having fled to South Africa as averred by Detective Hlatshwako.”
Dlamini, according to the court, was faced with two serious charges; murder and attempted murder. Judge Magagula said Dlamini admitted that he stabbed Gama and that made the Crown’s case against him strong. The accused had every motivation to evade trial, considering the likely sentence should he be found guilty. Dlamini was represented by Azi Hlatshwako, while the Crown Counsel Mbutfo Mbingo appeared for the Crown.