Durban - Mohamed Vahed Ebrahim, the man accused of kidnapping and killing 9-year-old Miguel Louw, had requested a Legal Aid lawyer, but the police officer who took his statement after his arrest did so without a lawyer present.
The Durban High Court on Monday heard this evidence from Captain Sibusiso Zondo, who said he could not organise an attorney for Ebrahim as he did not have the contact details of the Legal Aid lawyer on standby.
“I informed him that he would be allocated one (an attorney) during his first appearance in court,” said Zondo.
He claimed that Ebrahim gave him permission to continue with the interview and obtain the statement without a legal representative present.
Ebrahim’s lawyer, advocate Jay Naidoo, argued it was unbelievable a suspect would still give a statement after requesting the services of a lawyer.
“Did you tell him that he had a right to keep silent until his lawyer was present? He needed a Legal Aid lawyer and you did not provide him with one. You continued to take the statement.
“You did not make any effort to obtain a lawyer There is no record anywhere in the file that he (Ebrahim) had indicated that the statement can be taken without a lawyer being present. The only thing he agreed upon was that he was going to meet his Legal Aid lawyer in court,”said Naidoo.
Zondo said he already knew who the suspect was when he took over the case on July 21, 2018, and had learnt through his superiors that a suspect had been arrested in connection with Miguel’s death.