Lotus Gardens murder accused, alleged drug lord denied bail
The community petitioned the court asking that the accused not be granted bail and claiming that he is a drug lord that terrorised them.
A man accused of the murder of Tshilidzi Madiba (30) has been denied bail.
Kishen Pillay (40) appeared in the Atteridgeville magistrate’s court on Friday where he faced charges of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Madiba was assaulted last month and later told his friends the assailant had been Pillay.
She said Madiba died of gunshot wounds a few hours after arriving in hospital.
Mahanjana said Pillay handed himself over to the police nine days after the incident and had been in custody since.
She said the investigating officer testified that the accused shouldn’t be granted bail because he is likely to commit another crime as he currently has a pending case of murder in the Brits magistrate’s court.
“He also read out a petition with signatures of the Lotus Gardens community members, stating that Pillay was terrorising the community and is said to be a drug lord,” she said.
She said that in the petition the community had asked the court that the accused should not be released on bail.
“It was also put on record that before this incident, the police had confiscated his licensed firearm and drugs, which are still being analysed at the lab,” she said.
“In her judgment, the magistrate said the state has a strong case against Pillay, and that he failed to provide evidence that satisfies the court that exceptional circumstances exist, in which the interest of justice does not permit further detention,” she said.
She said that the judge also stated that the accused is a danger to the witnesses, their families and the community.
The case was adjourned to October 17.
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