Despite being granted bail, whether a parolee accused of the murder of Likhona Fose, 14, will be released from custody rests on the decision of the parole board.
Mduduzi Mnisi was released on parole in December 2018 after he was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. He served nine years in prison and was paroled until 2027.
On Wednesday, magistrate Delize Smith granted him bail of R5,000 after a witness, who told police Mnisi had been seen with the 14-year-old in Durban Deep, Roodepoort, shortly before her murder, declined to consult with the state's legal team.
“This court is not the trial court, and the testimony of that witness has not been tested. But the behaviour of this witness now at this stage, when she has to come for the consultation with the prosecutor or assisting investigating officer further, seems to be ducking and diving, and [the witness] even goes to stay in another address,” Smith said.
“A person is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty at the trial. And as there is no evidence, prima facie, at this stage, the court finds this to be an exceptional circumstance [grounds for bail to be granted],” she ruled.
During the bail application, the investigating officer in the Fose murder, Moses Semosa, testified that the witness told him she had seen Mnisi walking to his home with the teenager at about 4pm on May 31, the day before she was found dead.
Mnisi said he did not know her, denied any involvement in her murder and asked the state to check his cellphone records as he was in Daveyton with two friends at that time. This alibi was investigated, and his phone was linked to a tower in Daveyton.
Mnisi also called his girlfriend to testify that they were together at her home in Kagiso after 7pm on May 31, that they had spent the night together and he had never left her sight. The court heard that Mnisi's cellphone was linked to a tower in Kagiso at about 8pm.
On hearing about the cellphone locations, Mnisi's parole officer, Neo Lakaje, said he had violated his parole conditions as he had not obtained prior permission to be in another jurisdiction.
Smith instructed the court order be sent to the correctional supervision or parole officers, saying bail would only become effective if the parole board decided Mnisi's parole should be reinstated.
The court heard during the bail proceedings that he had violated his parole conditions, which required him to notify authorities if he left his home district. Part of his alibi was that he had travelled to two other locations during the time that Fose went missing.
Smith ruled that when the parole inquiry is held and if it is found that he broke his parole conditions, his bail would be forfeited to the state and he would remain in custody until the finalisation of the case.
The case was postponed to Friday.
Should he be released after the parole board inquiry, Mnisi will be under house arrest at his home in Durban Deep for the duration of the trial.
“This means you cannot go and sleep with your girlfriend in Kagiso or with other people at different places. You must be at that address, and you are under house arrest for the duration of the trial,” the court ruled.
He is not allowed to leave the district of Roodepoort and is not allowed to talk to witnesses or have other people contact them on his behalf.
Fose left her home on May 31 and did not return. Her mutilated body was found dismembered in Durban Deep on June 1.
TimesLIVE
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