Central SA
Convicted wife killer granted R200 000 bail─── 16:14 Wed, 18 Dec 2019
Convicted wife killer Jason Rohde has been granted R200 000 bail while he waits to appeal his sentence.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) made this ruling on Wednesday after Judge President Mandisa Maya and judges Christian van der Merwe and Caroline Nicholls heard Rohde's application in November to overturn a Western Cape High Court decision.
In addition to the R200 000, Rohde was to furnish a bank guarantee of R1m.
His bail condition stipulates that he reside at his home in Plettenberg Bay. Should need to travel to Johannesburg or Cape Town to conduct business or attend court cases, he was to live at specified addresses in Lonehill, Johannesburg or Green Point on the Atlantic Seaboard respectively.
Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe referenced Jason Rohde's history as the former CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty by comparing the staging of his wife's suicide to the staging of a house by estate agents.
He could not be away from Plettenberg Bay for longer than five weekdays at a time.
In August, Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe refused Rohde's application when he approached the Western Cape's highest court for bail to deal with a "hostile take-over" of his company and to prevent his daughters from running out of available funds by December.
He claimed he and his family would suffer immeasurable prejudice if he was not released to take care of his business.
In an affidavit, he said he had a more than reasonable prospect of success on appeal on both constitutional and legal grounds, according to legal advice he received.
The State opposed the SCA application.
Salie-Hlophe sentenced Rohde to an effective 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of murdering his wife, Susan, and staging her suicide at a hotel on Spier wine estate in Stellenbosch three years ago.
He has, however, maintained his innocence.
Rohde petitioned the SCA and secured leave to appeal in the matter, but a date has not yet been set for the hearing.
Rohde's lawyer, Tony Mostert, told News24 he's hoping his client will be released tomorrow.
He said while he had not spoken to the Johannesburg businessman, he was hoping to do so before the end of the day.
