Zuurbekom church massacre suspects back in court

The 42 men accused of killing five people in last year’s attack at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) headquarters are expected to appear in the Westonaria Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

This is after their case was postponed for further investigation in November last year.

The accused were each granted R5,000 bail last year.

ALSO READ: IPHC attack: Court grants 42 murder suspects R5 000 bail each, says State’s case is ‘questionable’

At the time, magistrate Gavin Pillay told the court the State’s case against the 42 accused was weak and questionable. He said the investigating officer in the matter was “ill-prepared”, “evasive” and “failed to present facts” while being cross-examined.

The accused were then ordered to surrender their passports, not to visit the church headquarters in Zuurbekom and not to interfere with witnesses.

“The State’s case is questionable at this juncture. I am satisfied to make a finding that at this juncture – indeed the State’s case is weak. Bail in regard to all the accused should be granted. I believe the accused have a case to answer and bail should be fixed at R5 000 each,” Pillay said.

Pillay further said investigating officer Sergeant George Maditse failed to place some of the accused at the crime scene.

ALSO READ: Church attack: State ‘riding a dead horse’, says lawyer representing 17 accused

“Maditse could not identify which of the firearms recovered were carried by which suspect. There was a lack of direct evidence on this matter. Maditse didn’t place firearms in the hands of the accused or else he was ill-prepared for the bail application.

“His statement didn’t support his evidence. Maditse was evasive and should not have hidden information to develop a case. He needed to present facts. Perhaps things will change during the course of the investigations.

“He could not place all the accused at the scene. When we apply the principle of common purpose, the State didn’t prove common purpose.

“However, the investigations are still to be finalised and the scenario might change,” said Pillay.

On 11 July, the church came under attack from armed men who stormed its premises in Zuurbekom, West Rand, which resulted in five people being killed, four of them set alight and two vehicles torched.

A number of people including women and children were taken hostage by the gunmen. They were later freed by police Specialised Task Force members.

The gates of the church headquarters were damaged and police collected more than 300 spent cartridges on the scene.

They also recovered a number of weapons, some of which unregistered.

Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde. Additional reporting by News24 Wire 

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