Bail hearing of Polokwane murder-accused husband postponed

The bail hearing of a man accused of ordering a hit on his businesswoman wife and her colleague had to be postponed following a fierce disagreement between the State and a defence lawyer in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court late on Wednesday.

The disagreement arose when defence lawyer John Mokgotho asked investigating officer Warrant Officer Gerhardus Kotze why he had not taken the witness stand on 18 November.

Mokgotho insisted that the reason Kotze did not testify was because the State had indicated then that “it has nothing” against Thabo Stanley Leshabane, accused of ordering the hit.

This was vehemently denied by State prosecutor Chantelle Stevens, who said the reason was that a police psychologist had to still conclude the evidence of all the psychologists before Kotze could take the witness stand.

But Mokgotho told Magistrate Janine Ungerer that the reason advanced by the State on that day was captured in the court records.

Ungerer, who also pointed out that she could not remember the State advancing such a reason, adjourned for the records to be found and played in court.

After more than an hour and a half of adjournment, the records of that particular day could not be found.

It was agreed that the matter be postponed to Friday, 11 December 2020 for the recordings to be found. Leshabane, 57, is applying for bail together with four co-accused – Mondo Buthelezi, 25, John Zulu, 30, Bhekimuzi Phiyose, 34, and Thembelani Dlamini, 30.

Earlier in court, the lawyer for the four co-accused, Whitey Moruleng, in his cross-examination of Kotze, tried to show the court that the accused were not a flight risk.

However, Kotze indicated that almost all of them had no fixed assets.

He also indicated that accused number three, Phiyose, used a different surname, Nxumalo.

-The Citizen

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