Pretoria - While the police have urged the Mamelodi community to see through the cases they have reported as the police close in on the “Boko Haram” gang, the State has yet to decide whether or not to oppose bail for the gang members they have arrested so far.
The first pair to be arrested, Mcedisi Ntloko and Sibongile Mabele, both aged 37, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday for their formal bail application.
They appeared on March 11 and were charged with fraud, money laundering and trespassing after they allegedly hijacked a residential building belonging to the City of Tshwane and rented out the rooms illegally.
Their actions have reportedly cost the municipality R12 million, with the duo raking in R690 000 from the illegally rented rooms.
The pair were due to apply for a bail hearing on March 18 however, the matter had to be postponed, as their attorney was not present in court.
Their attempt to have their bail application heard on Friday was thwarted once again, as the State requested a short postponement for further investigations, because it had not yet decided whether or not the bail application would be opposed.
The court granted the State’s request, and the matter was postponed to March 30.
To date, the police have arrested four members believed to be part of the ’Boko Haram’ gang, which has allegedly been terrorising the community of Mamelodi since 2018 by extorting foreign tuck-shop owners, construction projects, hostel dwellers and business people.
The two other accused also appeared in court on Tuesday on charges of robbery, contravening the Security Act and racketeering. Their matter was postponed to April 12 for a bail application, pending further investigations.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said the SAPS in Gauteng were urging the community to go through with the entire process of reporting cases, including submitting statements to investigators and participating in identification parades and other investigative processes.
Peters urged victims to refrain from withdrawing reported cases, as they were necessary to ensure that the police could effectively investigate and arrest the gang members.
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