Durban - A police officer is facing charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice for allegedly shooting an unarmed man who was walking on a road.
Sergeant Gabriel Chetty, 42, of the SAPS, appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court yesterday for his bail application.
He was arrested last week on charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice in connection with the death of 34-year-old Sibonelo Shozi in 2018.
Chetty’s co-accused, Leon Pillay, 36, was also arrested last week and has been charged with defeating the ends of justice in connection with the incident. He was granted R4000 bail on Monday.
In an affidavit submitted to the court during Chetty’s bail application, investigating officer Michael Viljoen from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said it was alleged that the two officers approached Shozi, who was walking, on April 9, 2018, in an unmarked police vehicle.
Viljoen said it was alleged that Shozi raised both his hands and was unarmed at that stage.
He said Chetty produced his firearm and fired several shots at Shozi.
Shozi was shot in the right shoulder, the back of his left arm and the back of his left leg.
Viljoen said a witness stated under oath that Shozi told the two officers not to fire because he had nothing on him.
“The first applicant [Chetty] then took a firearm from his possession and placed it in the hands of the deceased.”
He said a primer residue test conducted on Shozi at the scene was negative and the bullet heads recovered from his body was ballistically linked to a gun in Chetty’s possession.
He said that in their official report, both accused stated that they stopped to search Shozi when they heard two loud bangs and saw two bright flashes before they opened fire.
Chetty claimed he fired three shots while Pillay said he fired six.
In his affidavit, Chetty disclosed that he had one previous conviction for driving a vehicle without the owner’s permission and one pending case for pointing a firearm.
Senior state advocate Kelvin Singh said Chetty was arrested on Tuesday on a separate charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Singh said one of the main reasons he was opposing bail was that the witnesses were known to both officers and that there was a possibility that Chetty may interfere with them.
“If the first applicant is released on bail I fear for the safety of the witnesses,” said Singh.
Defence attorney Ridewaan Sayed said Chetty went through an inquest in 2018 and there were no adverse findings and a disciplinary hearing found in his favour.
He said Chetty had a 23-year unblemished career with the police and that his conduct over the years did not suggest that he would interfere with witnesses.
The matter was adjourned to next week and Chetty was remanded in custody.
The Mercury