Johannesburg - It’s time communities learnt the real meaning of bail. This was the unambiguous message by a Soweto magistrate after a protest by taxi drivers demanding the detention of a taxi boss arrested for the alleged murder of one of their colleagues.
“The community can’t be screaming from the sidelines. Bail is not punishment, but assurance of court attendance. It doesn’t mean the accused is discharged from the matter,” magistrate Audrey Mpofu explained on Tuesday, before ruling in the bail application of Bekuyise Cebekhulu in the Protea Magistrate’s Court.
Cebekhulu is accused of killing taxi driver Khulekani Sibisi, 26, nearly two weeks ago.
His bail application was postponed on Monday after Mpofu asked the investigating officer to clarify if public outrage was under control, and whether the statements of the witnesses had been obtained.
The investigating officer, Isaac Oupa Kubheka, told the court that the community and taxi drivers don’t want Cebekhulu back in the community.
Kubheka said the killing had caused outrage, which had led to the accused’s homes and his two vehicles being torched. Eight of his Toyota Quantum minibus taxis were also damaged.
Kubheka told the court that a witness who saw the shooting was afraid to make a statement because he feared Cebekhulu.
“I told him I would place him under witness protection, but he said he would think about it,” Kubheka said, adding that the witness lived in the same area as the accused.
Advocate Leonard Cindi, for the accused, said Cebekhulu had contributed to Sibisi’s funeral costs. He said the driver was caught in a crossfire and that this wasn’t premeditated murder. He said if witnesses had failed to come forward in the past few days, it showed that they had no interest in doing so.
In granting the application, Mpofu said the community needed to learn how bail worked. She said there was no substantial evidence as to why local residents don’t want Cebekhulu to be released on bail.
The Star