Pretoria - The so-called Number 1 Tsotsi, Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela, was on the brink of leaving for a holiday in Dubai with his family shortly before he was arrested earlier this month, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.
This was in spite of the fact that he was not supposed to leave Gauteng without the permission of the investigating officer, Detective Constable Evans Mongwe told Judge Bert Bam.
He gave evidence regarding the forfeit of the R50 000 bail Mathibela had paid in 2015 after he was arrested as one of the suspects for the murder of North West billionaire Wandile Bozwana.
The State claimed that Mathibela had not adhered to his bail conditions in that case and that he should thus remain behind bars.
Mathibela’s bail was provisionally suspended a week ago as Judge Bam felt that he could pose a security risk. This was pending a hearing to determine whether or not he adhered to his bail conditions.
Mathibela, who was out on bail on the Bozwana case, was arrested on March 13 on charges of extortion, intimidation and assault. He subsequently appeared in the lower court and is still in custody.
It is claimed that he, among others, intimidated and threatened a witness in the Bozwana case.
Mathibela will today launch an urgent application to have his arrest overturned.
His case on Thursday stood down for a few hours as he was taken to a doctor. He claimed that he was assaulted and suffered injuries during his arrest.
The slightly-built man, said to be feared in Mamelodi, entered the dock on Thursday with an escort of about 15 heavily armed members of the SAPS Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team. Some of the men wore balaclavas and took up positions at either end of the courtroom after delivering him to the dock.
His lawyer, Annelien van den Heever, objected to the heavy police presence and asked the judge to order them to leave the court.
She said their presence was an infringement of her client’s rights as it created the impression that Mathibela was guilty, a danger to others and violent.
“I never expected this. It goes without saying this cannot happen,” the outraged lawyer said.
Judge Bam asked her what she wanted him to do about it. “You want me to chase them out?” he asked.
Prosecutor Andre Fourie said perhaps the police had information from outside which pointed to a security risk. Judge Bam resolved that he could not interfere with the Swat team’s presence as they probably had good reasons to be there.
The matter was postponed to April 16 as both the State and the defence want to call witnesses to Mathibela’s alleged breach of his bail conditions. He is adamant there was no breach, while the State claims otherwise.