Durban — The defence for two men charged with impersonating police officers who were denied bail was preparing for a second bid for bail.
This emerged in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where Zenzele Ezra Mathe, 44, and Mondli Percy Dlamini, 29, were charged with impersonating a member of the SAPS, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, being in possession of a firearm without a licence as well as being found with stolen property.
State prosecutor Nomcebo Xulu said the matter was on the court’s roll for further investigations and indicated that the ballistics report was still outstanding.
“Witness statements are outstanding, the photo album is still to be filed, and we are also awaiting confirmation that the accused are not members of the SAPS. I ask for the matter to be adjourned for further investigations.”
The men’s defence attorney Nosizwe Bantwana said she had no objections to adjournment for further investigation.
“However, the defence is moving to seek a date for bail on new facts. We did not do the initial bail application and therefore we have made efforts to get the transcripts for the bail application. The challenge that we have is that the Gauteng transcribers say proceedings were inaudible,” she said.
Bantwana said that feedback that her law firm had received was that neither the defence, prosecutor, or interpreter was audible.
After the magistrate suggested to Bantwana that she could make use of the affidavits filed for the bail application, she said that she would be filing documents in relation to the application for bail based on new facts by Friday, at the latest.
The matter was adjourned to August 29 for the men’s second bail bid.
Mathe and Dlamini were arrested on May 20 after being apprehended by members of the community. It is alleged that on May 12, the accused arrived at the complainant’s home and said that they were police officers with the Hillcrest SAPS and that they were doing an investigation.
Further to that, they were carrying dockets which created the impression the accused were lawfully associated with the police service. It’s alleged that the accused robbed Londiwe Maphanga of a pistol at gunpoint.
They had allegedly tied both of Jabulani Maphanga hands behind his back and kept him in the bathroom during the commission of the crime.
The firearm that the accused allegedly used in the commission of the crime had no serial number.
The accused were also allegedly found with a police docket cover as well as a bank card.
On May 22, the court heard the men’s formal bail application where they went into the merits of the allegations against them saying that they were apprehended by members of the community who thought that they were criminals.
“I was in Hillcrest, Kwangcolosi area, when I and my co-accused got lost and went to another shop to buy airtime and ask for directions.
“The members of the public thought we were criminals and they assaulted us and locked us in the boot of a car until the police arrived…
“The members of the community said they have been looking for us yet it was the first time we went there.
“They thought we are the criminals they have been looking for.”
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Daily News