A hostile situation unfolded in front of the Newcastle Magistrates Court this morning as a group of protestors gathered in solidarity with the two taxi drivers who were arrested for last week’s double murder.
Read original article here: Community stumbles across gruesome crime scene
The two murder accused appeared before a Magistrate, attempting to apply for bail after being arrested last week Thursday.
In support of their release from police custody, taxi drivers, accompanied by community members, decided lead a ‘peaceful’ protest, demanding that the accused be granted bail.
Tensions were high and temperaments short as protestors seemingly started getting aggravated while waiting for the verdict on the matter.
The two were denied bail and remanded back into police custody until their next appearance on November 2.
One man at the scene claimed the aim of the protest was to get the accused released on bail as he believed they were ‘unfairly’ arrested in the first place.
“There were more than 50 people there on that day (the day of the murder). They all beat up the two robbers, ultimately killing them, so how can the police only single out these two men? That does not seem fair, does it?” he questioned.
Another protestor claimed that the taxi driver, who was robbed and ordered that the two robbers be found and dealt with, was the same person who allegedly assisted police in apprehending the two taxi drivers now charged with murder.
He alleged that the same taxi driver had gone into hiding, after pointing out the murder accused. He also claimed that the robbers, were a part of the ‘Last Warning Gang’ and that they were fed up with these gang members causing constant chaos, havoc, fear and violence.
An official source, however, confirmed that the murdered ‘victims’ were referred to as pharras (Hobos), who not only robbed the taxi driver, but also his passengers on the way to Osizweni on October 16.
It was further stated that the homeless men were found the next day hiding under the Hardwick Street Bridge, next to Trim Park, and were taken back to the taxi rank, where they were beaten and killed for their crime.
The Newcastle police are yet to release an official statement and an update will be published at a later stage as soon as information is made available.
Watch as a Protest unfolds at Newcastle Magistrate’s Court:
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