Case against man caught allegedly smashing North West court windows postponed

The Vryburg Magistrates’ Court has postponed a case against Sibongile Dube, 35, to 17 January 2022 for bail application and further investigation.

According to NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame, Dube was arrested on Sunday after he was allegedly caught smashing the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court windows. He has been charged with malicious damage to property.

“It is alleged that a security officer on duty on 09 January 2022 heard windows being smashed and upon investigation, he saw the suspect running away from the scene. The Security Officer gave chase, caught Dube and police were called, he was arrested and officially charged,” Mamothame said in a statement.

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“Dube will remain in custody until his next court appearance while police are investigating the motive for this crime.”

In a separate incident, Paul Makauta, a 36-year-old from Dobsonville, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after allegedly taking a hammer to glass doors and windows at the Constitutional Court.

Makauta made his first appearance in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, where it was revealed that had been convicted of murder in 2010 and was apparently out on parole at the time of the incident.

He is facing a charge of malicious damage to property at the moment, but National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said on Friday the state was considering bringing additional charges against him under the National Key Points Act.

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His first appearance in the dock was a brief one.

The court heard the damage done to the country’s apex court was estimated at R50,000. He is not applying for bail at this stage, and the case was postponed to March for further investigations.

During proceedings, the court also heard that Makaula was convicted of murder in 2010.

Mjonondwane said afterwards that he was released from prison on parole in 2019.

Additional reporting by Bernadette Wicks