A police officer arrested in connection with the shooting of three people outside a Green Point bar has been freed on R1 500 bail.
Constable Thembisile Madona, of Pinelands police station, handed himself over to Cape Town police on Thursday morning.
He and two others, Lindela Ncukana and Nceba Cuba, have been charged with attempted murder after last Monday’s shooting at Cubana.
Details about the incident were not revealed in court, but police said at the time that witnesses had seen a man take a firearm out of his two-door red Opel Astra before shooting randomly at the people, who were later taken to hospital for treatment. The motive for the shooting is not yet clear.
Ncukana was arrested soon afterwards and Cuba the next day. They appeared in court last week and were released on R500 bail each.
Madona handed himself over to police on Thursday after hearing the police were looking for him.
Prosecutor Mbulelo Koti said the State was opposing Madona’s bail, because his service pistol had allegedly been used in the shooting.
His lawyer, Quentin Donaldson, denied this, adding that the police had agreed not to oppose his release on bail if he handed himself over.
After an adjournment and a meeting between Koti and Donaldson in magistrate Zwelindumile Sogwagwa’s chambers, the court heard that bail was no longer opposed.
Koti said Madona had a fixed address, was not a flight risk and had no pending cases or warrants.
Madona was, however, found guilty of culpable homicide in September and received a suspended sentence.
In support of Madona’s bail application, Donaldson read an affidavit citing that his client supported his two children and his mother and that his incarceration would adversely affect them.
The presiding officer found that it was in the interest of justice to release Madona on bail.
Madona has to report to Pinelands police station every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between 6pm and 9pm.