Brixton police out on bail,
might face a murder charge
The two Brixton police officers accused of assaulting, suffocating and
disposing of a Nigerian national on January 24, are out on bail.
MaileMatsimela | 4 February 2014 08:20
File Photo: A
group of Nigerian men protesting in Westren Extension.
They were each granted a bail of R1 000 when they
appeared in the Benoni Magistrates Court on February 3.
The officers, aged 31 and 32, were given strict
instructions not to interfere with witnesses or to set foot in Benoni for the
duration of the case.
The officers are facing three charges: kidnapping,
assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of
justice.
However, it emerged during their first appearance
in the Benoni Magistrates Court, on January 29, that a charge of murder might
be added to the list of charges.
The officers also wanted to apply for bail during
their first appearance, but Benoni senior prosecutor December Mthimunye
requested a postponement, as the state still had to:
n profile the accused for any pending cases or
criminal records;
n verify their physical addresses;
n refer the matter to the Director of Public
Prosecution (DPP);
n place witnesses under protection, as there has
been interference from the police.
Mthimunye had said the court received information
that Benoni police carried out a raid on the property where the incident
occurred last night (January 28).
Defence advocate Stephan van Rensburg argued that
the state had ample time to do all of the above since the incident first
occurred and that their failure to gather sufficient information in time can’t
be used to infringe on the accused’s right to a bail application.
Magistrate Ian Cox conceded that the accused have a
right to a bail application.
He, however, disagreed with van Rensburg when he
said the state failed to profile the accused and to verify their addresses on
time.
“Will it be OK for the state to profile a person
before their arrest? No, I don’t think so, so I disagree that the state had
ample time,” said Cox.
He added that it must be borne in mind that “rights
and fairness” is a double-edged sword and needs to be balanced for the benefit
of both the accused and the state.
“This court is also entitled to postpone matters
for seven days to allow for investigation, irrespective of whether the accused
is a police officer, a president or a civilian,” said Cox.
“On balance of probability, I think it’s fair to
grant the state postponement to do what they want to do.”
The case has been postponed to Monday, February 3.
