Businessman and convicted wife killer Jason Rohde has been granted bail by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein pending the outcome of his appeal.
Rohde’s legal team launched the application for bail after being granted leave to appeal his conviction by the Supreme Court of Appeals last month. In papers before the court, Rohde said he wanted to be released on bail so that he could attend to his business and maintain his children financially.
Rohde is serving an effective 20 years at the Drakenstein Prison in Paarl for killing his wife Susan and obstructing the ends of justice by staging her suicide.
Susan Rodhe’s body was found in a locked bathroom in a room she shared with Rohde in July 2016 at the Spier Wine Estate Hotel in Stellenbosch. Her body was found with an electronic cord wrapped around her neck. The cord had been tied to a hook on the back of the bathroom door.
In February, Rohde was sentenced to 18 years for murder by Western Cape High Court Judge Gyaat Salie-Hlope, and five years for obstructing the course of justice, with three years of the sentence running concurrently with the murder charge.
He was granted bail under strict conditions and must report to the Plettenberg Bay police station within 24 hours.
In her judgment on Wednesday, Judge Mandisa Maya, set bail at R200 000 with a bail bond guarantee of R1m.
-additional reporting and photo -ANA
