Murderer in bail bid to secure jobs of his staff

CONVICTED murderer Petrus Durant, the security company owner who shot dead a farmworker, believes he should be released from jail pending sentencing proceedings because his imprisonment threatens the jobs of 150 workers.

Judge Ramarumo Monama ruled at the high court in Joburg on October 4 that Durant had murdered Aaron Mutavhatsindi, a tractor driver at Bartlet Eggs Farm.

Durant shot Mutavhatsindi in January last year in Matshelapata, an informal community near Krugersdorp. Angry residents said the killing was racist.

Durant was chasing Mutavhatsindi as he drove his work tractor towards his shack. Bartlett’s management had informed him that Mutavhatsindi had stolen the tractor.

Durant’s guilty verdict resulted in the R10 000 bail granted at the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court ahead of his trial in the high court being withdrawn.

Judge Monama heard a fresh bail bid yesterday. The onus was on the murderer to prove that there were exceptional circumstances favouring his release.

The most extenuating factor that warranted Durant’s release was that he needed to attend to matters of his security company, defence lawyer Dieter Coetzee told court.

Coetzee said his client needed to ensure smooth transfer of the company to a new director.

“He merely seeks bail to keep the business running. He wants to be released to keep 150 people employed. If that’s not exceptional, I don’t know what is,” he added.

Opposing the bail application, the State argued that Durant did not need to be outside to ensure smooth transfer of directorship of his business.

“A manager can attend to the day-to-day running of the company,” prosecutor Carla Britz told the court.

Judge Monama will deliver his ruling on the bail application next week. |