Throngs of onlookers were expected to continue to converge on the premises of the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court next Monday 1 October, in anticipation of the second appearance of three local police officers linked to a recent brazen armed robbery.
SAPS re-enforcements from the Public Order Policing kept a close eye on proceedings, as spectators arrived in their numbers to get a glimpse of what turned out to be a real-life drama.
According to the Hawks, the three men were charged with kidnapping, corruption and armed robbery, from which an amount of R190 000 was stolen.
The threesome was surprised by the arrival of the Hawks in a sting operation, and rounded up on the premises of the Bela-Bela Police Station.
Sergeant Humbulani Mulaudzi (39), Constable Hlengani Jan Maswanganyi (33) and Constable Sibusiso Makwela (37) were arrested on Friday 21 September.
The sequence of events had attracted massive mainstream media interest, with the breaking news flighted on national TV and hitting the news headlines on national radio.
On Tuesday 25 September court orderlies had their hands full, as the three men were called up, with throngs of spectators outside of the packed courtroom whistling and ululating, in apparent
approval or otherwise.
Mulaudzi looked more relaxed as he entered the courtroom, smiling at the public gallery, while Maswanganyi and Makwela were stone-faced and somewhat nervous.
The latter two suspects hid their faces from media cameras.
The three suspects remained in custody, and were expected to appear before the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court for formal bail application next Monday 1 October.
— The BEAT
