PORT ELIZABETH, January 23 (ANA) – Two men charged with allegedly murdering a man following a so-called revenge mission will have to wait until later this week to know whether they will be released on bail.
Deilon Makoppa and Kurt Bosman are applying for bail in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court following the alleged act of vengeance in which at least two people were killed and another was kidnapped during December last year.
A third accused Damian Kammies has abandoned his bid for bail. He still has two pending cases of murder against his name.
The men appeared briefly in court on Monday, however the matter was postponed because the magistrate was not ready to make her ruling.
The men who are reportedly affiliated with a notorious gang the ‘Spotbouers’, are facing charges of murder, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
The State has previously argued that although Makoppa denied being part of a gang WhatsApp group his proposition was improbable as the phone’s password he provided was ‘freshdeilon’.
“His name was mentioned in the group chat, he was in control of that phone and the fact of the matter is that he was associated with the ‘Spotbouers’ gang. They operate in a group and things are weaved together by different people who play different roles,” said Prosecutor Rafik Ahmed.
The group chat appeared to also indicate where gang members would store firearms. In addition to this one picture, it depicted two revolvers and a pistol and in a separate image a man in a pink jacket was seen carrying what appeared to look like an Uzi.
“These people are dangerous, this is a coordinated effort. The fact that they operate in a group makes it more dangerous for community members. It is difficult to prosecute these cases as witnesses are threatened and if they are released on bail there is a possibility they may interfere with witnesses,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed argued that both men acted with common purpose
However, defence attorney Ryno Scholtz argued that the State did not have a strong case against the accused because the police conducted a one dimensional investigation.
Scholtz said that video footage police failed to follow up on could have possibly exonerated Makoppa from the alleged crime.
According to the State the men were on a revenge mission to seek out Neville Bruintjies known as ‘China’. Bruintjies apparently embarrassed fellow Spotbouers gang members after disarming them of a gun.
During November last year, Bruintjies was allegedly sought out by the men and in the process a trail of destruction was left behind. A man was killed and his body discovered in the Malabar vlak area and Bruintjies’s mother’s house was reportedly burnt down.
The three accused allegedly then made their way to Schauderville looking for Bruintjies. In their quest for information of his whereabouts they allegedly assaulted and kidnapped Franklin Matthys.
The State alleges that in the interim Matthy’s cousin, Deon, was shot and killed in cold blood by the accused.
The matter was postponed until Wednesday for judgement.
-African News Agency (ANA)
