Valentine Dube appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for a bail application. The 33-year-old e-hailing driver is accused of assault by threat against a 22-year-old passenger.

The defence focused much of the hearing on the reliability of a Section 212 report from the Department of Home Affairs, which the State relied on as evidence that Dube is in the country illegally, and cited as a key ground for opposing bail.

At Dube’s previous appearance on August 4, the State indicated it intends to add a charge of contravening immigration law after the report flagged his alleged irregular status.

Read more: E-hailing driver, accused of assault, now slapped with new immigration charges

The State’s sole witness, the investigating officer, opposed bail mainly because of Dube’s travel documents, and because he is said to know the complainant’s address and the ride’s pick-up and drop-off points.

Under cross-examination, the defence questioned how the report had been generated and whether it could reliably be linked to Dube. The officer said he had queried Home Affairs use of Dube’s names and date of birth, returning a single match tied to a passport number, which formed the basis for the report.

The defence countered that the record appeared to have been retrieved using a passport number first, and that number, which does not belong to Dube, was used to determine his status. The officer insisted the search began with the names and date of birth.

Pressed on whether he could confirm the passport belonged to Dube, the officer conceded that only Home Affairs could verify the link. The defence seized on this admission, noting that police could not say with certainty that the passport number in question is connected to their client.

Although the defence had previously said the State considered charges of kidnapping and assault, both parties on Tuesday agreed the charge before the court was assault by threat.

The incident dates back to the early hours of 26 July. The complainant, according to her mother, Magdeline Sefike, had requested a ride from Kew to Lombardy West but was allegedly driven towards Alexandra instead. Sefike alleged Dube became aggressive when her daughter questioned this.

Also read: Assaulted Pikitup employee shares her tale

The officer testified that when the complainant asked to be returned to the pick-up point, Dube responded, “I will show you,” which he characterised as a threat. The defence argued the phrase was ambiguous and could not, on its own, be read as a threat.

In support of bail, Dube’s lawyer submitted that his client has lived at the same address for five years, has no assets abroad, is a father of four, and has no previous convictions, adding that he poses no flight risk, harbours no ill will, would not interfere with witnesses, and has R500 available for bail.

The matter was postponed to August 14 for judgment. Dube remains in custody.

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