Newcastle businessman’s second bid for bail is refused by court
Magistrate rejects Govender’s second bid for bail
Newcastle businessman Keagan Govender’s second bid for bail was refused in the Newcastle District Court last week.
Govender (38) and his co-accused – Raheem Amod (23), who is an employee of Govender’s; and Constable Povasan Archart (32), a detective in the Madadeni Family Violence, Child Protection & Sexual Offences Unit – are charged with attempted murder and obstruction of justice.
The men were arrested on July 15 in connection with the brutal assault of Nikyle Ramnarain on July 11.
A preliminary police report indicated that Ramnarain (a patron of the Curry Bar, a Newcastle pub that Govender operates) had an altercation with the barman at the Curry Bar on July 10.
Ramnarain alleges that he was contacted by Archart on July 11, who asked him to return to the Curry Bar to resolve the issue that arose between him and the barman the previous day.
He further alleged that when he got there, he was locked in a room, where he was then beaten by Govender, Amod and Archart.
Govender, Amod and Archart deny the charges against them and intend to plead not guilty during their trial.
Govender’s fiancé, Tyiesha Ramsoomar, later clarified that the alleged incident did not take place at the Curry Bar itself.
According to Ramsoomar, it is alleged that the incident took place at another one of Govender’s businesses, High Rollers, which is located in the same building as Curry Bar but has its own, separate entrance.
Govender was first refused bail on July 24, while Amod and Archart were released on R2000 bail each.
At the time, the presiding officer, Magistrate Buhlebakhe Ngubane, feared that Govender appeared to have a propensity for committing similar offences, but found that there was no evidence that either Amod or Archart would interfere with witnesses or undermine the administration of justice.
Govender raises alleged new facts
On September 8, Govender applied for bail on new facts.
In an affidavit he submitted to the court, Govender raised the fact that, during his initial application for bail, the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Mlotshwa, testified that he was investigating two cases of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm, in which Govender was likely to be charged.
According to Mlotshwa’s testimony, both these incidents took place at the Curry Bar. Govender pointed out, however, that he has still not been charged in these matters, nearly two months later.
Ngubane rejected the notion that this point constituted a new fact with regards to Govender’s second application for bail.
“This point was raised in the initial bail application. The fact that he is not charged on these two cases was never in dispute. Whether he is charged or not is a decision that must be taken by the state prosecutor after the SAPS has finished its investigation and submitted the docket. There is nothing new about this fact,” said Ngubane.
Govender further submitted that, since he has been in custody, there were two attempted break-ins at the Curry Bar (on August 17 and 22) and both this business as well as High Rollers had fallen into a state of financial ruin.
After having investigated this point, Mlotshwa confirmed that High Rollers has remained closed since Govender’s arrest, and Curry Bar has not operated since August 20 following the first attempted break-in.
Ramsoomar testified on September 15 that last month’s combined municipal bill for the businesses and the residence she shares with Govender (located on the same premises) came to more than R27,000.
“I had to take a loan from my employer to pay the bill because we are unable to generate funds while the businesses are closed. If I didn’t raise the funds to pay, our home would have been disconnected as well,” said Ramsoomar.
She explained that she and her elderly mother continued to open the Curry Bar for business after Govender’s arrest, but were too afraid to continue to do so following the attempted break-ins.
Court rejects grounds for release
Regarding the attempted break-ins at the Curry Bar, Mlotshwa reported that no cases were registered and therefore no police investigation was underway.
“The officers who took statements regarding the incidents may have registered it as an enquiry, but an official case was never registered for investigation,” said Mlotshwa.
Before delivering his judgment, Ngubane explained that, in an application for bail on new facts, Govender would have had to bring to court facts that only came to light after his initial bail application was refused.
“It cannot be a reshuffling of old information,” said Ngubane.
Ngubane disregarded the financial position of the Curry Bar and High Rollers as a new fact, saying that it had already been established during the initial bail application that Govender managed the operational, financial and logistical responsibilities of the businesses, which would be closed if Govender remained in custody.
The only issue raised in Govender’s affidavit which Ngubane accepted as a new fact was the attempted break-ins at the Curry Bar on August 17 and 22.
“However, there is no criminal case brought forward that is under investigation,” Ngubane pointed out.
“If there were attempts to break-in twice, one would have expected a case docket to be opened. If, indeed, there was an attempt to break-in, why is there no case number?” he asked.
“In the initial bail application, Govender’s history and previous convictions were taken into account. This new fact does not satisfy the court that it is in the interest of justice for Govender to be released,” concluded Ngubane.
The matter was postponed to September 22 for further investigation.
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