Contradictions galore as ‘best friend’ murder accused applies for bail

Investigating officer, Sergeant S. Mngomezulu, took to the witness stand last Thursday to argue against the reasons why the court should grant Patel bail as outlined in his affidavit read in his previous appearance on July 15.

Mothilal’s body was found by a passing truck driver on Majuba Pass on the evening of July 8. He had been shot in the head by a single 9 mm round – the cartridge of which was found next to his body.

Click link for the first article on this developing story: https://tinyurl.com/yjmw7c8b

Patel had told the Mothilal family that he had left Jonah at the side of the road, halfway to Volksrust, to view another car. Johah wanted to buy another car but he (Patel) could not wait for him as he had to rush back to Newcastle to attend a family dinner.

Taking to the stand, Mnogmezulu stated that the case against Patel ‘is very strong because R294 000 was retrieved in his yard when police searched the Patel home.’ When police officers questioned Patel’s family members they claimed to know nothing of the money. When Mngomezulu questioned Patel, who was known to own a firearm, about the whereabouts of his gun, he told yet another version of events that transpired on the pair’s trip to Johannesburg.

Narrating the ordeal, Patel said they were robbed in Balfour; the robbers had apprehended them and stole his gun and wallet.

Bolstering the state’s case is a report from the car’s tracker and CCTV footage from various garages along the way to Volksrust and Standerton, which Mngomezulu says contradict Patel’s statement made about the pair’s trip to Johannesburg.

In his bail application, Patel describes himself as the breadwinner detailing that he is permanently employed and earning R15 000 per month.

Opposing the statement, Mngomezulu mentioned that though the investigations revealed Patel was employed by his uncle at a store that sells uniform, sportswear, stationary and fishing equipment store in Dundee, the uncle could not provide any proof of earnings that proved his R15 000 salary. Furthermore, the Department of Labour has no employment history – disproving his employment from 2018.

Another fact that Patel asked the court to consider was that he had no pending cases. Mngomezulu replied that Patel has an ongoing case from his July 8 arrest in which he was charged with the negligent loss of a firearm, failure to report a lost firearm and failure to store the firearm safely.

Patel’s defence attorney, Osborne, indicated that the defence was advised that the firearms charges and the present cases are all part of the same case which Mngomezulu claimed he was unaware of.

Mnogmezulu also objected to Patel’s release, claiming that when police arrived to arrest him on Monday, his bags were packed as if he were about to flee. When officials checked his phone, they discovered a message from his girlfriend that read: ‘Don’t leave Newcastle because if you do, you will appear suspicious.’

When questioned further by the defence on the veracity of the statement, Mngomezulu responded that questions should be directed to the arresting officers on the day.

Mngomezulu expressed fear that the accused might intimidate witnesses and conceal evidence such as the gun he was carrying which has yet to be found by police. He also indicated that Patel’s release would constitute a threat to public safety since he believed Patel was a danger to himself.

He then went on to discuss the significant division and tension that the case has presumably sparked, noting that the deceased was Christian and the accused is Muslim and that his release could result in ‘a religious war’ in Newcastle, similar to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

As evidence of growing tensions between  the opposing groups, Mngomezulu handed in the signed petitions circulating against the release of Patel on bail as well as a post from the accused’s uncle where he wrote, ‘denial of bail without concrete evidence undermines the principle of due process and could potentially ruin an innocent person’s life.”

To this, Osborne asked Mnogmezulu if maintaining public peace and safety was not the police’s responsibility, to which he replied: “There aren’t enough police officers which is why some people hire private security firms because there aren’t enough officers for the general public.”

The defence requested permission from the court to respond with a written affidavit which was heard on August 7.

Read the full story in the Newcastle Advertiser, and get a copy of the next edition for the full account of August 7.

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