They were each granted R10 000 bail in July 2025.
The State has been granted leave to appeal the decision on the 12 members of the South African Defence Force (SANDF) Special Forces members accused of killing two Ethiopian nationals and a Hawks detective.
The application was brought before the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division in Johannesburg, to seek relief against the decision of the Randburg Regional Court magistrate that granted bail to the twelve members of the SANDF Special Forces.
Charges
The 12 members were granted R10 000 bail in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in July.
They are facing charges related to the alleged kidnapping and murder of an Africa-based ISIS leader, Abdella Abadiga, and his bodyguard, Kadir Jemal Abotese, at the Mall of Africa on 29 December 2022.
The officers are also charged with the murder of the Hawks’ investigator, Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, which occurred on 6 August 2023.
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Mathipa was shot twice in the head while driving on the N1 near the Hammanskraal off-ramp on 6 August 2023.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the 13th accused in the matter is an entity.
Findings
In its findings, when granting the accused release on bail, Magistrate Hleziphi Mkhasibe said the State had a weak case against the accused and that they successfully discharged the onus placed on them to show that exceptional circumstances existed which, in the interest of justice, permitted their release on bail.
Dissatisfied with this decision, the State filed a notice of leave to appeal citing amongst others, grounds that the Magistrate placed the onus on the State to prove the strength of its case by placing evidence before the court in opposite of the requirements as per section 60 (11)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), which places the evidentiary burden on the accused to convince the court on a balance of probabilities, the existence of exceptional circumstances warranting their release on bail.
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“The State further submitted that the Magistrate failed to have proper regard for the strong circumstantial evidence presented by the State and that the bare denial of complicity by the accused did not amount to exceptional circumstances,” Mjonondwane said.
Appeal
Mjonondwane said the submissions by the accused in their responding documents cited that an appeal by the State against the granting of bail lies only against points of law which were disputed by the High Court, as it remarked that bail appeals have no such qualification.
“It stated that the question in bail appeals relates to the wrongness of the Magistrate’s decision, which may either be on a point of law or on the factual findings.
“The court further expanded that the question before it was whether there existed reasonable prospects that a court of appeal may find that the Magistrate who granted the accused bail, exercised her discretion wrongly,” Mjonondwane said.
Further investigations
Mjonondwane said the judge concluded that there is a reasonable prospect that an appeal court may find the magistrate misdirected himself or herself.
The case was postponed to 17 September 2025 for further investigations, whilst the date for the appeal hearing will be communicated to both parties in due course.
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