Pretoria - Two murder accused were denied bail after they appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Clinton Plaatjies, 39, and Kholofelo Rakhobela, 27, from Olievenhoutbosch are facing charges of murder, kidnapping, and possession of an illegal firearm.
“It is alleged that on August 19, 2022, while the deceased and his girlfriend were walking in the evening at Olievenhoutbosch they were kidnapped by both accused and taken to Plaatjies’ place of residence, where they hung the deceased facing down on the roof inside of the house and proceeded to assault him with a chain until he died,” said NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
Mahanjana said they put his lifeless body in a body bag and burnt it beyond recognition and later released his girlfriend.
Days after the incident, the family of the deceased reported him missing to the police.
After investigations, police found his body in the bushes in Olievenhoutbosch on August 27.
The accused were subsequently arrested at their places of residence on September 6.
According to Mahanjana, the pair was denied bail after state prosecutor Mashudu Nembulunge told the court that releasing them on bail will endanger their lives, after community members threatened to take matters into their own hands, by killing them should they be granted bail.
“Moreover, it was not in the best interest of justice to release them on bail, since the two do not have any exceptional circumstances that warrant their release on bail,” Nembulunge said.
In his ruling, the magistrate agreed with the prosecutor and said due to the seriousness of the crime, there is a high chance they might evade trial and interfere with the witness because they know who it is.
The matter was postponed to June 28 for further investigations.
IOL