Arsonist who ‘set alight’ his home with wife and kids inside denied bail

A Johannesburg father of three will remain behind bars after the Randburg Magistrate’s Court denied him bail.

Maurice Masemola, 43, is accused of setting his Cosmo City home on fire while his estranged wife and three children were asleep in May.

The state, led by senior public prosecutor Yusuf Baba, presented damning evidence against Masemola.

In an affidavit, Masemola told the court he was a layperson being smeared by his ex-wife, Ramasela Masemola, a police officer abusing her power.

Masemola said the couple were finalising divorce proceedings and accused his ex-wife of cooking up a conspiracy with her colleagues at the Honeydew police station to vilify him.

He took his submission further by attacking the case’s investigating officer from the police station and asked the court to appoint an independent police officer to the case.

“The investigating officer knew exactly what was he doing when he was compiling evidence and when he issued the arrest warrant. He wanted to paint me as a flight risk,” said Masemola.

Masemola’s case for bail began to fall apart when he amended his affidavit to reflect that his ex-wife was employed at Roodepoort police station and not Honeydew.

“They are all in the same cluster,” he insisted.

But that significant detail was only the first domino to fall.

The prosecution presented an undisclosed former driving under the influence conviction, protection orders and medical records that painted a grim picture of alleged violent domestic abuse, Ramasela Masemola and her children had suffered at his hands.

There were also admissions from Masemola’s children that they were not free around their father, who they said was consistently disrespectful to them.

Their affidavits also stated the domestic abuse was negatively affecting their school work.

The state presented cellphone evidence that placed Masemola at the house on the day of the incident.

Baba said that even though Masemola accused his wife of abusing her power as an officer of the law, other suspects linked to the arson attack were police officers who have helped him evade authorities in the past.

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“We’re almost ready to move in and make those arrests,” said Baba.

In handing down her judgment, Magistrate Gail Pretorius said although the evidence presented was circumstantial, Masemola’s history counted against him.

“You threatened to kill your wife with a hammer. There was on more than one occasion malicious damage to property,” said Pretorius.

“Now, you are accused of setting fire to your house with your wife and children inside, which is cruel. The court sees no love for your children.”

She said Masemola had also threatened to kill his family and commit suicide.

“Your wife and children’s rights to safety and life carry more weight than your right to freedom,” Pretorius told Masemola.

The case will resume on 30 September.

Meanwhile, Ramasela Masemola and her children remain under the witness protection programme.