The bail application in the case of the three men accused of murdering five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane Junior has been postponed to Thursday for cross-examination of the investigating officer and for arguments by the state and defence.
During court proceedings at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Sgt Sevhasa Mashudu, the investigating officer in the case, gave his testimony from morning until the 1pm lunch adjournment.
Water, sanitation problems
After the one-hour lunch adjournment, state prosecutor Tumelo Letaoane told magistrate Naseema Khan that there are no water or ablution facilities in the holding cells where the three accused are being kept.
Therefore, Letaoane asked that the matter be postponed to Thursday for cross-examination of Mashudu and for the state and defence to present their arguments.
Defence lawyer Thulani Kekana from Legal Aid SA did not oppose Letaoane’s request. Kekana is representing Elia Maeko, 36, the accused seeking bail.
Khan postponed the matter to Thursday for cross-examination of Mashudu. Also for Letaoane and Kekana to present their arguments in relation to Maeko’s bail application.
Earlier during his evidence-in-chief, Mashudu told the court that Maeko has a previous conviction. He was found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) in 2009.
Maeko was found guilty by the Giyani Magistrate’s Court in 2009 for assault GBH, said Mashudu. The 2009 verdict was after Maeko stabbed a man identified as Mr Morero with a knife in the chest.
Previous convictions
Mashudu said Maeko lied to the court that he did not have a previous conviction when, in fact, he did.
Mashudu was continuing with his testimony on Wednesday during Maeko’s bail application.
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 are facing a charge of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. They are all from Soshanguve South,
Gumbo, who is a Mozambican national, is also facing a charge of being illegal in the country.
Mashudu said Maeko should not be granted bail because he lied to the court that he does not have a previous conviction.
“He [Maeko] wants to mislead the court that he is not violent, whereas he is. He wants to get bail using lies,” said Mashudu.
Flight risk
Mashudu said Maeko should not be granted bail because he told the police he knows nothing about Ditebogo’s murder when he was arrested.
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.
Mashudu said police cannot allow the release on bail of the three suspects while on the hunt for two others. He said Maeko’s release will jeopardise their ongoing investigations.
He also said releasing Maeko on bail will put the lives of state witnesses and Ditebogo’s family in danger.
“If accused number one [Maeko] is released on bail, this will jeopardise the safety of the witnesses.
“The family of the deceased child …will also be in danger because after the incident, the father was followed by certain people.
“He 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.
Local gang
Mashudu told the court that before Ditebogo’s murder, police were investigating a gang known as Task Team. It is a gang of five people responsible for robbing and hijacking people of 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 also confirmed that police are still looking for the other two suspects who are part of the gang.
The three accused are charged with the murder of Ditebogo Phalane Junior, 5.
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 armed men shot and killed him.
