Johannesburg - Radovan Krejcir’s lawyer has torn into the prosecution in the Sam Issa murder case, saying the State’s case was pitifully weak and that the police were responsible for a series of blunders.
Krejcir and four co-accused - Siboniso Miya, Nkanyiso Mafunda, Simphiwe Memela and Lyubomir Borislav Grigorov - are facing nine counts for the murder of Issa, an alleged drug kingpin.
Issa was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2013 and his Audi Q7 was riddled with bullets.
He reportedly had links to Krejcir, also believed by police to be a top figure in the local criminal underworld.
During his bail application in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Krecjir’s lawyer Annelene van den Heever said the State had failed to produce any evidence linking her client to the crime.
Last month, Krejcir took the stand and explained his alibi on the night of the killing: he was having a tryst with his mistress after a drunken evening at a Bedfordview restaurant.
Van den Heever said Krejcir had offered to explain himself while on the stand and even asked that the State provide its evidence so he could respond properly.
However, the State was unable to present any concrete evidence, according to Van den Heever.
The lawyer insisted that the presiding magistrate had no alternative but to take Krejcir’s verbal evidence as fact, as the prosecution had failed to challenge it.
She argued that the police investigators, who Krejcir has accused of threatening him in order to stop the bail application, refused to take the stand and respond to the allegations.
That, she said, meant the court had no choice but to believe Krejcir on that aspect as well.
Van den Heever said the State’s argument that Krejcir was a flight risk bordered on ridiculousness because Krejcir had attended all his previous court cases “religiously” and was unable to cross any border because of an outstanding international warrant for his arrest.
The case continues on Friday, with prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba due to provide his rebuttal.
If Krejcir is granted bail in this matter, he would remain behind bars for the three other cases against him.
The Star