‘Your life is no longer your own’

“yOUR lives are no longer your own.” This was the message from the magistrate who yesterday granted John-Ross Henderson, a member of the Public Order Police (POP) unit, and his co-accused, Rozario Mojaki, bail.

They are accused of being involved in a robbery and shooting incident at a supermarket in Galeshewe, and were released under strict bail conditions in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The two are facing four counts of attempted murder and business robbery relating to an incident which occurred during the early hours of November 6 this year.

Four Chinese nationals were shot and robbed of an undisclosed amount of money, cellphones and a laptop.

Magistrate Benjamin September, after a lengthy deliberation, granted Henderson bail of R10 000 and Mojaki bail of R5 000. September also imposed strict conditions on the accused, which will restrain their movements.

“Accused one (Mojaki), you are under house arrest from seven in the evening until six the next morning. Your life is no longer your own. I will determine when and where you go. From seven in the evening, you will be at home.

“Do not even leave your yard during that time. The investigating officer (IO) must ensure that the accused abides by this. You (Mojaki) will get surprise visits from the IO and police officials. Police officials will come like thieves in the night.

“If you are not there, I will lock you up. You are also not to leave the district of Galeshewe or Kimberley without the written permission from the IO or the commander of the IO,” he said.

Henderson, who is still employed as a member of POP, will be under house arrest from seven in the evening until five the next morning, if he has to work a day shift.

“You will be under house arrest from seven in the morning until five in the afternoon, if you work night shift,” the magistrate ordered.

Henderson cannot leave the district of Kimberley without written permission from the IO or the commander of the IO.

“Both the accused are not allowed to contact any witnesses or complainants. They should also not go to the crime scene nor should they interfere with the investigation process. If accused two (Henderson) is suspended from work, his bail conditions will be amended.

“Both accused must attend court proceedings. If they fail to do so, they will forfeit their bail.

“If you think that I am tying you down, that is exactly what I am doing, and I can tie you down even further if you do not abide by these conditions,” September warned.

Family members and friends of the accused yesterday waited in anticipation for the court to reach a decision after four days of bail proceedings.

Some loved ones said silent prayers after it appeared as if the two accused would remain in custody.

September, during his deliberation, pointed out that the accused have some explaining to do during the trial, regarding the evidence against them.

“The investigating officer testified that a store was robbed. Shots were fired during this incident and it has been alleged that the two accused were the main partners in the incident. A third person was possibly the lookout, according to the evidence presented.

“Police informants led investigators to a person called ‘Zaza’, and it was later established that this person is accused one (Mojaki). Accused one later implicated accused two (Henderson) and also pointed out the place where the stolen cellphones were destroyed,” September said.

Following this, as well as the discovery of a bag at or close to the scene, which contained a night-vision lens, Henderson was then investigated. “Investigations revealed that the lens was booked out by accused two.

“Both the accused denied being involved in the incident and submitted statements to the court.

“However, I cannot ignore the fact that accused one pointed out the place where the cellphones were destroyed, nor the fact that the night-vision lens found in the bag was booked out by accused two. The accused will have to explain to the court why his bag was found at scene,” September said.

The magistrate, however, conceded that there were exceptional circumstances for the accused to be granted bail and that the length of the investigation might result in the accused being in custody for a long time.

“I need to take into consideration that matters are referred to the regional court only when it is trial ready. There are also exhibits in this case that need to be sent for ballistic tests and, in my experience, this can take a while, sometimes up to six months,” he said.

September requested a full asset disclosure from the legal representatives of both the accused before he made a decision on bail.

“Bail is not a luxury and an accused cannot come and prescribe to the court what bail will befit him or her,” he said. The matter was postponed to January 2018.