DURBAN - Attempted murder-accused and ANC councillor, Mzwandile Shandu, will be back in the dock at Umlazi Magistrate’s Court, south of Durban, on Friday.
Shandu, and his nephew, Mnqobi Shandu, were charged with two counts of attempted murder and one of housebreaking with the intention to commit a crime. They are out on bail of R2 000 each.
The Daily News previously reported that a 16-year-old was confined to a wheelchair as a result of one of the allegations presented before the court.
According to Magistrate Jade Gurie, the court's decision to grant bail was based on the evidence offered by the investigating officer, or the lack thereof.
During the bail application, prosecutor Dumisani Nxumalo, argued in opposition of the application, and said the accused knew the witnesses and could be a threat to their families based on information gathered from the victims.
“The court should consider that the victims have been put in witness protection because they were interfered with, and therefore leave their families exposed as they are victims of the accused. The court must consider the intensity of the violence meted on the victims as an indication of the likelihood of it repeating itself in the near future,” Nxumalo said.
He said the court should read nothing into the time span between the attack, which was on August 13, and the date of arrest, December 28, 2021, as “the accused saw no need to interfere with the witnesses as it seemed they had got away with the crime”.
Defence attorney, Abdul Karrim, said the prosecution had no evidence for any of its claims, and urged the court to assess the evidence in front of it.
“There is nothing tangible in the arrest docket or presented to the court that justifies the perceived threat to the witnesses. As with the previous appearance, we submit that the flight risk issue is not supported by evidence.
“Both my clients have responsibilities to their families and children. One of my clients is a ward councillor, and the other is well known in his area of residence. We ask the court to consider the evidence presented before it and nothing else,” Karrim said.
In most cases, the investigating officer was unwilling to share the justifications underlying the State's opposition to bail, Gurie said.
“The investigative officer was in most cases not willing to reveal the merits behind the State opposing bail. Everything was vaguely explained and not clearly defined. The court must examine the merits of the case, not conjecture or hearsay. The crime intelligence should have come to testify as it had critical information about the case. There should have been evidence showing that the accused would be a danger to society, but there was none. It is the court’s contention that the State should be leading succinctly with evidence,” Gurie said.
Gurie said the prosecution and investigation officer treated the court “disdainfully” and did not assist in developing a prima facie case.
Prosecutor Dumisani Nxumalo asked for the postponement, to establish more facts on the case, which Gurie granted and adjourned the matter for Friday.
Daily News