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No bail for Issie Dippenaar’s accused murderer – Sihlalis day in court

Protesters under the banner "Justice for Issie" gathered outside the court on Sihlali's first and subsequent appearances, demanding that he not be granted bail.

Banele Sihlali (28), arrested after the murder of Ms Issie Dippenaar in November last year, was denied bail in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

He is facing charges of murder with aggravated circumstances and attempted murder.

Ms Dippenaar was found strangled to death and tied up in the boot of her car on the evening of 21 November.

Acting on evidence at the scene and eyewitness accounts, police launched a manhunt for Sihlali.

Sihlali was wounded by police during his arrest and was admitted to hospital.

The community was outraged when news broke that the beloved and kind-hearted minister’s wife, head and brainpower behind the CSS children’s home, had been murdered.

Protesters under the banner “Justice for Issie” gathered outside the court on Sihlali’s first and subsequent appearances, demanding that he not be granted bail.

Six months after he was taken into custody and a previous attempt to convince the court that he needed to be let out on bail in order to seek medical attention for the wounds he had sustained during his arrest, Sihlali finally had his day in court on Friday.

He tried the sympathy card once more, stating that he could not sleep in the prison bed, because of his injuries and alleged that he still had not received medical attention.

Sihlali alleged that he was aware of the attention the murder had raised in society at large, the media interest it had generated and that disgruntled residents in Ermelo town wanted to eliminate him, unlike residents in the township, who would give him safe harbour.

He also said the State did not have a strong case and that he could afford only R1 000 bail, as he did not have access to high financial resources.

After his and the State’s applications were read, the magistrate, Ms M.Z. Mtshali, denied bail, having taken into consideration, among others, that when he was shot and hospitalised, a team of professional doctors saw to his injuries and discharged him only once he was fit to stand trial.

She added that there was a hospital wing in prison.
She reiterated that the accused ran away from police and once he was apprehended, Ms Dippennaar’s bank card was found in his possession and he was caught on CCTV footage while drawing money and making a purchase at a butchery in town.

Ms Mtshali concluded that she agreed that the community was outraged and that it was therefore best for him not to be released.

The case has been postponed to 9 June, pending instruction from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

 

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