Murder-accused cops' urgent bail bid

Independent Newspapers

HEADS BOWED: Policemen accused of the murder of Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia appear for a bail hearing at the Daveyton Magistrates Court yesterday. Picture: Werner Bukes/Pool.

The defence team in taxi driver Mido Macia’s murder case has asked that the bail application be treated as an urgent matter, and like any other murder case.

An advocate representing one of the accused told the magistrate that the case needed to resume on Monday.

This comes after Macia’s family said they had to travel to Mozambique to bury their loved one, and would be back on Wednesday.

By 4pm, there were disputes about whether the applications should be concluded or postponed, as some court officials and employees had to fetch their children from creche.

The magistrate said the matter could possibly resume on Monday or Tuesday.

The arrest of the ninth accused police officer came as a surprise. The 35-year-old constable was arrested yesterday morning in Limpopo while he was on “sick leave”.

The State later ripped into his testimony, asking why he had left the province upon hearing of his colleagues’ arrests, and why he had only submitted his sick leave yesterday.

In their written affidavits read earlier in court, the accused told how they had attended the scene after being called for back-up when Macia resisted arrest near the local taxi rank.

Most said they were surprised to hear of Macia’s death as he had not complained of any injuries.

They stated that they were not a flight risk and would co-operate with the law, and sought R2 000 bail.

Warrant officer Thamsanqa Ncema, 35, told how Macia insulted him as a useless policeman when he initiated an arrest. He said he had approached the man when he noticed his Avanza parked in the middle of the road.

He said after insulting him, Macia had grabbed a policeman’s firearm while he called for back-up. The driver’s licence was later confiscated.

Another accused was arrested for defeating the ends of justice.

Other accused are Warrant Officers Meshack Mashele, 45, Matome Walter Ramatlou, Jonathan Mnisi, 26, Sipho Ngobeni, 30, Lungisa Ewababa, 31, Bongani Kolisi, 27 and Linda Sololo, 56. They will be held at a correctional facility. -Saturday Star