Accused in homeless stabbings in bail bid
THE Pretoria Magistrate’s Court is set to decide if the man accused of stabbing two homeless people in the city deserves to be released on bail or not.
Manusi Mothupi, 40, returned to the dock yesterday to continue his bail bid in front of a full gallery.
He’s charged with attempting to murder two homeless people in Muckleneuk.
His arrest in July attracted huge public and media interest with many believing that he could be linked to deaths of five homeless people in the city.
The homeless were bludgeoned and stabbed multiple times around Magnolia Dell Park, east of the city.
The deaths sparked fear in the homeless community and prompted widespread calls for justice.
A high-profile cases investigator, who obtained a court order not to be named in the media due to the nature of the cases he handled, argued that the accused should be prosecuted while in police custody.
He was initially suspected of stabbing one homeless man, but police investigations had since linked him to another case.
The investigating officer said he was concerned about the safety of the victims who still resided on the streets.
He said the accused may opt to finish what he allegedly started should he be granted bail.
With media covering the case, he argued that bail should not be granted for Mothupi’s own safety as well.
He said some community members, who may be emotionally attached to the case, may look for the accused and hurt him.
However, the accused’s lawyer argued that his client should be released on bail to stay in his Ga-Matlala village home in Limpopo.
This was despite the investigating officer’s argument that Mothupi’s Ga-Matlala home was too far from a police station.
A family member of the accused said that he was a very good man who should not go down for a crime he didn’t commit.
They accused the police of shoddy work from the beginning, saying that they wanted someone arrested to turn off the heat following the killings of the homeless people.
A police source told Independent
Media that they had witnesses who saw the accused commit the crime.
The source said one of the victims suffered stab wounds on the left side of his body and was now disabled.
The court reserved its ruling on Mothupi’s bail attempt.