Residents call for murder accused to remain in jail

Four Pakistanis in court after death of youths

“The silence of the people of Komani does not mean it is okay to kill children, the justice system must be warned.”

These were the words of a concerned Komani community leader who was in court this week for the case of four Pakistani nationals charged with brutally assaulting three young Komani street dwellers, killing two, and burying their bodies in shallow graves on August 14.

While not condoning children’s bad behaviour, Mnqophiso Naye, the deputy chair of the Nomzamo Neighbourhood Watch and a leader of civic association Sanco, said no-one had the right to take the law into their own hands.

“Our country is not a banana republic, it’s a constitutional country. No-one has the right to take a stick and hit a person who did them wrong,” Naye asserted.

He said residents had many unanswered questions. “How many of our children may have been killed like this without our knowledge?”

He stressed that while he did not want to raise alarm, Komani residents were concerned about the brutal incident. He called on the court to refuse bail.

The Pakistani nationals had claimed that the community of Komani showed no interest in the matter as there was neither protest action outside the court nor a petition submitted to the state.

The four – Farman Mohammed, Rashid Mahmood, Adeel Rehman and Abdul Rehman, aged between 27 and 35, appeared on two counts of murder, one of attempted murder and one of defeating the ends of justice for trying to conceal the bodies.

They allegedly attacked Vuyisile Homo, 31, and Siphelele Dastile, 27, and a third youth on Sunday, August 14, with wooden poles and other timber material, demanding to know where they had sold their property. They then allegedly buried their bodies in shallow graves near Roydon farm.

The three victims lived on the streets.

The Pakistani nationals reportedly suspected the youths of breaking into one of their businesses and stealing and selling their items.

“They were taking turns attacking them – when one was tired, another took over,” said Sgt Mthimkhulu Keva, the investigating officer, testifying in aggravation during the four men’s bail application this week.

In a new twist, it emerged in court that the third assault victim had died.

Ironically, it was defence attorney Sinesipho Mayinjana who stunned the court on Wednesday with the revelation.

The alleged attackers had reportedly set him free, but with serious injuries and after crawling towards his shelter, a passerby spotted him and called an ambulance. He spent three days in the intensive care unit and was reportedly moved to a normal ward recently. It thus came as a shock in court when it was announced that he had passed on.

Keva said Red Guard Security officers who responded to an alarm call at the business the night before the alleged attack were “chased away” by the accused. When the alarm went off again in the early hours of the next morning and the officers viewed footage, they noticed what seemed like people’s bodies wrapped in bags being loaded into a vehicle.

Police were called, but found the hardware store deserted. At about 3.50am, a white BMW arrived at the hardware store and police also returned and found the four accused, with blood marks on their clothes and shoes, according to Keva. Shovels and picks were also found in the car. After subsequent questioning, the four were arrested.

Grilling Keva during cross examination on Wednesday, Mayinjana suggested that the youth’s death would weaken the state’s case against his four clients as he was one the state’s main witnesses.

“Without the crucial evidence of the witness who was inside the store, you do not have a strong case against the four accused.”

The court also heard that another witness, a Pakistani businessman named only as Ali, who was implicated in the case, had fled to his home country after filing an affidavit through his attorney distancing himself from the incident. Keva said he intended to charge Ali.

The defence also pointed out that Keva admitted to not being able to identify the people in the video footage showing the alleged attack because it had been dark.

In response, Keva testified that the youth had made a statement after leaving the intensive care unit and he had implicated all four accused as well as Ali.

He opposed the release of the accused on bail, saying they were a

flight risk, knew the witnesses, were unco-operative when it came to providing documents and he had received information they were paying people to destroy evidence related to the case.

The accused, meanwhile, denied the charges, at some stage alleging that members of the community had assaulted two of the deceased before they were taken to the hardware store.

The four asked to be released, also because of poor conditions at the correctional centre they have been held in since their arrest.

They claimed the facility was “extremely overcrowded” with poor hygiene including dysfunctional ablution facilities.

“We are forced to sleep on the floor with no blankets and the food is not up to standard,” they all stated in their affidavits. The four said the unavailability of halal food in the centre was detrimental to their health and went against their religion. However, the state contended that the department of correctional services had confirmed that their needs would be catered for at the Sada Correctional Centre.

According to the state, the four might also face immigration-related charges after it emerged they were in SA illegally, with their asylum seeker permits having expired or not existing at all.

Magistrate Ganasen Narayansamy ordered the prosecutor to summon a home affairs department official to testify in court and provide clarity on the four men’s asylum seeker permits.

The case was postponed to August 30.