Magistrate Ryan Ishmail subsequently asked for a recess in Ramatisa's testimony as she began to weep under a fierce line of questioning from the state's  Johan de Vries. 

Ramatisa, who earlier appeared to be in good spirits, is testifying with the hopes of being released on bail after she was arrested in June for her involvement in the murder of two DA members, Molokwane Mkgoro and Godfrey Mbalula, and one Lesotho National in Bloemfontein earlier this year. De Vries accused her of lying under oath and further accused her of trying to help the father of her 10-month-old child, who has also been arrested and stand as an accused. 

De Vries also alleges that Ramatisa was directly involved in efforts to help the father of her child flee from Bloemfontein to escape arrest.

Ramatisa intended to plead not guilty to charges levelled against her.

In her testimony in a packed court, Ramatisa asked the court to release her on bail so she can look after her two kids, aged 6 years and 10 months.

She says her ailing parents, who both suffer from Diabetes, cannot carry the burden of looking after her kids as they are both old. She also told the court that she is still breastfeeding the younger child, a claim which De Vries vehemently opposed. He said the accused was trying to lure the court into believing that this was exceptional circumstances.

During a cross-examination, De Vries warned the accused about weeping in court due to the pressure during questioning. He said most people in her position would resort to a similar tactic to try to convince the courts. The state is opposing her bail application as it claims that she does not have exceptional circumstances to be considered as a candidate to be released on bail.

The other four, which include accused number one Lebusa Makhotla, and accused number two Jabulani Macholo, appeared in court and were remanded in custody until 18 November 2019, despite abandoning their bail applications during their last court appearance in September 2019.

OFM News