Former Dundee SAPS officer again loses bail appeal
He stands accused of plotting to murder Umzinyathi District SAPS commander Major General Francis Slambert.
Former Dundee police captain Roshanlal Banawo has been denied bail for a third time.
Banawo, who was arrested on November 24 last year, was initially denied bail by the Dundee Magistrate’s Court before the Pietermaritzburg High Court denied his bid for bail in February.
He then approached the Dundee Regional Court, which last Monday also dismissed the former police officer’s bail application.
Read more here on the Banawo case
It is alleged that Slambert survived at least two assassination attempts on her life between May and August last year.
Banawo, who left the SAPS around 2019, was arrested following an intense police investigation.
In opposing Banawo’s bail application, the state cited the following as aggravating factors: the prevalence of crimes against women in the country and the likelihood of his interfering with the investigation, given his previous networks with the SAPS.
The state said that the fact that Banawo was arrested during the ’16 days of activism against gender-based violence (GBV)’ campaign highlighted the seriousness of the charges the former police captain was facing.
The court dismissed his new evidence as to why he should be granted bail, which included his family’s suffering because he could not run his livestock business. Umzinyathi District police spokesperson Constable Siyabonga Nkwanyana has welcomed the decision to deny Banawo bail.
“This is seen as a strong stance by the judiciary against GBV. It reflects the seriousness of the crime and the need to protect the victim and society.”
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