Central SA
#PrellerSquareShooting: Emotions flare up over suspects' shackles─── LUCKY NKUYANE 13:58 Wed, 20 Nov 2019
Emotions flared up on Wednesday 20 November in the Free State High Court during the murder trial of CityMed MD, Louis Siemens, where Stanley Bakili and seven others stand accused of extortion, amongst others.
Mphafolane Koma, the legal counsel for accused six, Clive Tshivenga, was not satisfied that his client and others were in shackles while inside the chambers. Before the court proceedings today, Koma told the state prosecutor, Johan de Nysschen, that Judge Pitso Molitsoane had made a ruling previously that the suspects’ shackles should be removed.
On Friday 15 November, Koma pleaded with Molitsoane to make an order to have these suspects’ shackles removed. He said the Bloemfontein court is no different to any other court in South Africa and therefore it should also abide by the terms and reference as per legislation as it is being done in various other courts in the country. Molitsoane then made an order that the suspects’ shackles, once inside the chambers, must be removed.
Meanwhile, the South African Police Services (SAPS) Captain Catherine Oosthuizen, from the anti-fraud unit today testified on the financial analysis. Her analysis incriminates slain CityMed Managing Director Siemens and murder accused Bakili over dubious transactions, totalling R5 million. This pertained to the dealings between Siemens and Bakili amounting to millions between 2017 and 2018. Oosthuizen further informed the court that Bakili, who stands accused of organising a hit on Siemens, gambled more than R5m at the Windmill Casino between the period of January 2017 to June 2018. She further told Molitsoane that most of the monies amounting to hundreds of thousands were transferred to Bakili's account by means of Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) by Siemens.
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