Cosatu should know better than Terre'Blanche bail demand

Trade union federation Cosatu is demanding that the two men accused of the murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche be given bail.

In a statement, issued by the Congress of SA Trade Unions in the North West, the union says that the suspects must be given bail like those racist farmers who killed farm workers deliberately, claiming they were mistaken for dogs or baboons.

Moreover they confirm that local affiliates will be appearing at the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court to show support for the family of the accused killers when they appear on May 10 and 14.

“Our support to the family is that justice must be done.”

Terre’Blanche was killed on April 3, allegedly by one man and one teenage boy who were labourers on his farm.

Bail

In accordance with the law of South Africa, bail is granted to accused if it is believed that they will stand their trial rather than flee and that they will not interfere with the investigation prior to their trial.

The fact that some whites in Ventersdorp got bail for some racist crime or some blacks in Soweto got bail despite the fact that there were four dead schoolboys has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the court dealing with these bail applications.

The magistrate will look at the issue of bail strictly in accordance with the law of the country and whether the two accused before him or her qualify or not in terms thereof.

The first question will be whether the accused are being charged with schedule 5 or 6.

A schedule 6 offence means that the applicant has to show that exceptional circumstances exist for him to be released on bail. In the case of murder it will be a 6 if the state believe it was planned or pre-meditated.

In contrast section 60(11) (b) of the Act provides that where the accused is charged with a schedule 5 offence the onus lies with the state. The ordinary burden of proof that the interest of justice would be best served by the continued detention of the accused remains with the state until such time as it has shown the offence with which the accused is charged to be one that falls within schedule 5.

The state may discharge this burden by giving a full and proper description of the alleged offence in the charge or by leading evidence or by resorting to a certificate from the Director of Public Prosecutions in terms of section 60 (11A) of the Act.

Then depending upon which schedule is applicable the applicants (accused) will lead evidence in the form of an affidavit or by putting the accused into the box to show why the relevant onus is discharged.

To achieve this the attorneys for the accused will cover the factors mentioned in section 60(4) a-e of the Act in order to show that bail should be granted.

Again issues relating to other bail applications are totally irrelevant to this court.

Cosatu

While it is proper for Cosatu to bring, what they believe are racial inequalities, to the attention of the public, it is not in order for them to demand from our courts that black people be given bail because, they allege, certain whites were in some other cases.

They know that the call is ridiculous and puts unnecessary pressure on a court that is — at best — going to be highly charged.

Perhaps the senior leadership might want to have a word with their branch on this issue.