The police officer accused of shooting Durban Deep protester Tshepo Babuseng has been released on R5 000 bail on the morning of 28 January.
The accused can not be named since he still has to partake in an identity parade. Part of his bail conditions that he agreed to is that he will not interfere with witnesses to the shooting.
Members of the community that attended the hearing were dismayed with the outcome.
“This is very, very bad. We are extremely unhappy and not satisfied at all with the court’s decision. The community will reconvene for a meeting in Durban Deep at 11.30am. There we will decide the way forward and how we are going to react,” said Durban Deep community leader Mxolisi Fukula.
The accused will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court again on 5 March.
Protester shot: Officer’s late appearance causes uproar — 8am
The Durban Deep community has vowed to make Roodepoort ungovernable if the police officer who allegedly killed a protester receives bail.
The Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court was the scene of protesting from as early as 7am on 27 January.
By 12 noon the Court was still waiting for the docket to arrive from the police station and protesters and family of the deceased started confronting court officials.
Security eventually had to be called in to calm down the crowd, who demanded that the accused appear.
He briefly appeared but will appear again today, 28 January for his bail application.
In the meanwhile the charges of obstruction of justice against his three co-accused have been dropped.
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