One of the three accused in the murder case of five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane Junior has a previous conviction after he was found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) in 2009.
This information was revealed by the investigating officer in the murder case of Ditebogo.
Sgt Sevhasa Mashudu, the investigating officer in the case, said the accused, Elia Maeko, 36, was found guilty by the Giyani Magistrate’s Court in 2009 for assault GBH after he stabbed a man identified as Mr Morero with a knife in the chest.
Mashudu said Maeko lied to the court that he did not have a previous conviction when, in fact, he did.
Three applying for bail
Mashudu was continuing with his testimony at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday during the bail application of Maeko.
The three accused – Maeko, Ali Sithole, 30, and Nido Gumbo, 29, – appeared at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Maeko was continuing with his bail application.
Sithole and Gumbo have abandoned their bail applications.
The three accused, who are all from Soshanguve South, are facing a charge of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Gumbo, who is a Mozambican national, is facing a charge of being illegal in the country.
The charges they are facing are in connection with the murder of Ditebogo Phalane Junior, who was shot and killed in May last year during a hijacking at his Soshanguve home in Pretoria.
Shot while running to his dad
Ditebogo was shot and killed on the Friday evening of May 10, 2024. He was running up to his father, who had just returned home, when the men shot him dead.
During court proceedings on Wednesday, state prosecutor Tumelo Letaoane asked Mashudu to continue with his testimony, which is meant to oppose Maeko’s bail application.
Maeko, Sithole and Gumbo are represented by Thulani Kekana from Legal Aid SA.
Mashudu said Maeko should not be granted bail because he lied to the court that he does not have a previous conviction, whereas he has one.
“He [Maeko] wants to mislead the court that he is not violent, whereas he is. He wants to receive bail by using lies,” said Mashudu.
Mashudu said Maeko should not be granted bail because he told the police he knows nothing about Ditebogo’s murder when he was arrested.
Flight risk
He said based on Maeko’s lies to the police, he should be considered a “flight risk”.
Mashudu further said Maeko should not get bail because police are still looking for two other suspects in connection with Ditebogo’s murder.
He said police cannot allow the release on bail of the three suspects already in custody while on the hunt for two others. He said Maeko’s release will jeopardise their ongoing investigations.
Releasing Maeko on bail will put the lives of state witnesses and Ditebogo’s family in danger, he added.
“If accused number one [Maeko] is released on bail, this will jeopardise the safety of the witnesses.
“The family of the deceased child in this case will also be in danger. Because after the incident, the father of the deceased child was followed by certain people.
“The father reported this to the police, and we provided assistance to protect him and his family. At some point, the family had to relocate from where they were staying in Soshanguve,” said Mashudu.
Family in danger from gang
He told the court that before the murder of Ditebogo, police were investigating a gang known as Task Team. It is a gang of five people responsible for robbing and hijacking people off their vehicles.
He said the gang “terrorised” people who lived in areas such as Mabopane, Soshanguve, Akasia and Rustenburg.
Mashudu said when he was assigned to Ditebogo’s case, he knew the same gang was responsible for the crime.
He said Maeko, Sithole and Gumbo are part of the gang. Mashudu said police are still looking for the other two suspects who are part of the gang.
Magistrate Naseema Khan is the presiding magistrate in the case.
