Sharp arguments and logical threads begin a slow unpacking of the puzzle.
After an anxious and tense wait in the dock, Bruce Nimmerhoudt and his family must wait until the end of the week to know if he will be granted bail. In the 10 days since the dead of the night arrest at his home in Witpoortjie, Nimmerhoudt has been in police custody charged with incitement to commit public violence. In a development the Defence was only informed of on Monday morning, the State has since upgraded the charge to a Schedule 5 terrorism-related offence.
Read initial article here: LISTEN: Person arrested whose malicious voice note causes panic
While simply a bail application, the mood and tempo of proceedings were far more in keeping with that of a trial, and Nimmerhoudt himself was the first to give evidence as to why he should be released on bail. Under no obligation to do so, Nimmerhoudt claimed his innocence and sighted his firm commitment to the ethos of the political party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), under whose banner he is running for office.
The bail applicant was adamant that the widely circulated voice note was not created by him, and that it was sent to him via the party’s WhatsApp group. He revealed that as a leader within the party, he had taken up the responsibility to verify all rumours circulating, hence being in possession of and distributing the voice note. Nimmerhoudt stated that he first heard the voice note around 22:00, forwarded it to a contact for verification, and within a few hours he was in handcuffs.
Also read: Second person arrested for creating, circulating inflammatory messages
With PA leader Gayton McKenzie in the gallery, another party member gave a corroborating testimony while also vouching for the accused’s character, before a senior party member verbally jousted with the State Prosecutor. Party Chief Whip, Ashley Sauls asserted at every given opportunity that Nimmerhoudt’s arrest was unjustified and politically motivated.
The only witness the State called upon was the investigating officer in the case, who was also a member of the almost 20 officer-strong arrest party from those early Friday morning hours. The Randfontein-based detective was grilled by the Defence but just about held his composure to absorb queries regarding the protocols followed during the arrest as well as the intricacies of gathering sensitive intelligence.
In closing arguments, the Defence stated that Nimmerhoudt was not a flight risk, would not interfere with the investigation and that it would be in the interest of justice to release the accused on bail. The State countered with the belief that given the seriousness of the alleged offence and the scale of the ongoing investigations, Nimmerhoudt should be made to wait in a cell until his trial is concluded.
Two other men facing incitement charges relating to the civil unrest of two weeks ago were fortunate enough to be granted bail. Keke Tabane appeared across the corridor from Nimmerhoudt in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ court, July 26, and was granted bail of R5 000. Appearing in the Westonaria Magistrates’ Court, Sibusiso Mavuso was granted R2 500 bail as both men still face Schedule 1 charges.
Nimmerhoudt’s bail application has been postponed to Friday, July 30 for judgement.
