Murder-accused bar owner granted bail

28 year old Sydney Moshapo owner of Dollar Table in Melville was granted bail by the Johannesburg Magistrate court after he was charged with murder which allegedly happened at his club near Johannesburg. 071014 Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

28 year old Sydney Moshapo owner of Dollar Table in Melville was granted bail by the Johannesburg Magistrate court after he was charged with murder which allegedly happened at his club near Johannesburg. 071014 Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

Published Oct 8, 2014

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Johannesburg - Sydney Moshapo, the man accused of the brutal murder of Thulane Popoyi, has been granted bail.

He appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he was arrested on Sunday. Moshapo is the owner of the Dollar Table bar in Melville, where Popoyi’s body was found in the early hours of Sunday.

Even though he had been stabbed multiple times on his chest and neck, there was no blood found around his body. Police believe Popoyi’s body was dragged from inside the bar to the back entrance outside.

On Tuesday, magistrate Lucas van der Schyff said the State had not provided any proper evidence to keep Moshapo in custody.

“He was arrested with no permissible evidence… why didn’t the police gather evidence before they arrested him?” he asked.

The State said there were no statements from any eyewitnesses yet.

In an affidavit that his lawyer Harold Knopp read out in court, Moshapo said he had been the owner of the bar for two years and had 10 permanent employees working for him. He told the court he had no property outside of South Africa, was married and was expecting to be a father.

The 28-year-old also said he intended to plead not guilty to the schedule 5 offence and would not interfere with any witnesses.

It is alleged that police gained entry into the bar on Sunday after waiting for more than 10 hours. The owner had sent his lawyer to open the bar and eventually arrived on the scene at about 5pm, 12 hours after the gruesome discovery.

Melville ward councillor Amanda Forsythe said she had been trying to close the place down for the past year as it had no valid trading licence and was operating on the licence of a restaurant that closed down about 13 years ago.

She said the bar had been closed down on a number of occasions during raids, but would open up again soon after.

“There are complaints from businesses and residents alike, but when we take the complaints forward, they fall on deaf ears. There are never any follow-ups to the raids and there are always stories of fights and all sorts of terrible stuff going on there,” said Forsythe.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said investigations were under way, and they believed there were more people involved in the murder.

He said the injuries inflicted on Popoyi might have been caused by a panga.

“The motive is still unknown. The owner of the pub has been arrested and will be charged with murder. It is believed there are other accomplices,” Dlamini said.

The dead man’s guardian, Colin Law, said he could not be in court as he was busy sorting out funeral arrangements for Popoyi.

Earlier, he had expressed the hope that Moshapo would be remanded in custody until his accomplices were found.

Popoyi’s funeral will be held at St Columba’s Presbyterian Church in Parkview on Tuesday.

The matter was postponed to November 5 for further investigations.

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The Star

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