THE bail application of the four suspects in the Martiens Bann murder TRIAL has been postponed to August 12.
Paul Manyathela (23), Clement Mosweu (26), Lebogang Mdebele (24) and Bheki Nkosi (25) appeared in Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to apply for bail. However, one of the accused’s new lawyer was not ready.
The accused had changed from a private lawyer to a state lawyer on the morning of the appearance. All four suspects are represented by different lawyers.
The suspects are allegedly responsible for taking the life of Officer Martiens Bann on Saturday, July 11 just after 1pm, as he attempted to assist his neighbours during a house robbery.
A few Kempton Park community members stood outside the court holding up placards displaying their support against bail for the suspects.
Some of the placards read “Moordenaar geen borg”, “Hang them”, “Geen borg” and “Bring back the death penalty”.
Bann’s daughter-in-law was the only family member who attended the court case.
She wore a black jersey with white stripes and kept shaking her head throughout the proceedings as the suspects who sat in the dock right in front of her kept looking at her as their eyes moved through the crowd.
The four did not look frightened but instead boldly looked around the court. It appeared as though they were looking for someone. One of the suspects has a scar on his upper right cheek.
Three women believed to be the suspects’ girlfriends sat in the gallery. One ran out during proceedings. The three mumbled rudely as they displayed discontentment at the outcome of the proceedings.
Sebenza CPF executive chairman, Andrew Mosesi, said outside court that they supported the rule of law and processes and the innocent until proven guilty decree, but added that the community would stand together as a collective against the bail application.
Mosesi is responsible for starting a petition to oppose bail. He said so far they had collected 1 000 signatures but 600 had already been submitted to the prosecutor.
“It’s important that as a community we stand up against crime. In Kempton Park we are going to stand together and deal with crime. All races are affected. We want to send a message to the criminals that if you’re going to touch one person in the community, then you’re touching us all,” he said.
The suspects have been charged with house robbery, murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and a stolen motor vehicle. They will remain in custody until August 12.
