NELSPRUIT – A man who had allegedly been terrorising the Nelsville community, recently appeared in the local court.
Mr Henry Dlamini (26) faced two charges of armed robbery and one of attempted murder plus assault. Court documents stated that on August 14 Dlamini was alleged to have held up a man on the KaMagugu Road and stolen his Toyota Ethos and BlackBerry.
He appeared in the District Court for his bail application on March 6. The state prosecutor, Mr Oupa Ndlovu requested that his bail be denied due to other pending cases against him.
Dlamini admitted in court that he would plead guilty on the assault charge, but not to those of armed robbery.
Ndlovu pointed out that he had two previous convictions of assault and possession of counterfeit money, for which he had been fined R300.
He also mentioned that a warrant of arrest had been issued after Dlamini failed to appear for a matter on the court roll in 2011.
The suspect stated the complainant had withdrawn a charge against him of pointing a firearm and he was not aware of the matter being taken further.
He admitted to assaulting a man on New Year’s Day. “There was a quarrel and I warned him to stay out of a family matter but he carried on.” He said he had apologised to the victim.
Magistrate Ms Christa du Plessis warned Dlamini that what he said in court could later be held against him during trial proceedings.
Ndlovu said Dlamini assaulted the man while he was on the ground and kicked him several times, which caused extensive head trauma.
The accused responded by saying that the victim had threatened him with an iron, so he had hit him. Ndlovu stated that it was not in the interest of justice to release Dlamini.
Sgt Samson Bilo then testified that in the armed-robbery case, the vehicle had been recovered but the cellphone was still missing.
He said the witnesses in the charge of attempted murder against Dlamini, had failed to give statements because they were afraid of the accused, as the residents of Nelsville knew Dlamini well.
The policeman also brought to the attention of the court the fact that he had faced difficulties in trying to find and arrest him.
Dlamini’s bail application was denied by the court and he remains in custody.
