Nomzamo shooting was a “mistake”, affidavit reveals
The affidavit further explains this stating accused 1 told him that he and accused 2 and other people of Chakala went to the tavern where they unknowingly began shooting randomly outside the tavern.
More details emerged during the court case surrounding the events of the fateful night of July 10 that left 16 people dead at tavern shooting in Orlando East’s Nomzamo Informal Settlement.
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The formal bail application for one of the five accused, was heard at the Orlando magistrates court on Monday and the case postponed to 16 January.
This follow the lawyers Jeffrey Rahlagane and Thapelo Khelo, respectively, representing accused 1 and 2 as well as accused 4 and 5 cited that they would not ready to proceed with their bail applications on the day as they only got the statement in morning citing that they still need to review the statement and would only then determine if they could proceed with bail application based on the written statement.
The prosecutor requested that the bail application be postponed to a later date to allow the applications to be heard together, in one go.
However, J. P Venter, the lawyer representing accused 3 requested to proceed with his bail application as he was ready to present his client’s case.
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Venter, who was granted the request, proceeded with the reading of the affidavit to the court detailing his client‘s involvement and the events leading up to his arrest, and the grounds why accused 3 should be granted bail.
In his affidavit, accused 3 began telling the court how he had joined a burial society Terene Ya Kgosi Mokata, in 2021, as a member and as he became more involved, he was appointed the role of secretary.
According to the accused, the society (Mokata) was formed as a breakaway in January 2019, after the original burial society under the name Terena Ya Kgosi Chakala, split in December 2018 due to dispute and dissatisfaction of other members.
He alleges that because the new burial society was considered an oppression to the original burial society group, they had been tense and killing spares by members of the original group who began killing people from the new group.
In his affidavit, he claims that he learnt of the shooting on TV while he was in the Eastern Cape, and It was only after a meeting with the vice president of the burial group that he learnt that the police were looking for some members of their group that were allegedly involved in the shooting.
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He states that after a month since the incident, he met up with the president of the society, who was sitting with a journalist, where he was asked to interpret the conversation. It was at this meeting that the president agreed to meet with the police minister to assist the police.
On the day of the meeting, the affidavit revealed that the meeting which was held at the intercontinental hotel at O.R Tambo included the minister of Police Bheki Cele, his spokesperson, the journalist, a lawyer as well as the president of the burial society and himself as the interpreter.
According to the statement, accused 3 states that the president of the burial society explained to the minister that it was the opposing group (Chakala) that was operating in the province and it was the same group responsible for the rapes in Krugersdorp.
Following that meeting, another meeting was arranged at the provincial offices, the affidavit continues, and they were given a list of 11 names from their group which he alleges did not include his name.
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He states they requested a week to which the police threatened to arrest them. He wrote attempts to reach the people on the list failed as they did not pitch dispute several meet-ups.
The affidavit further read that in September, accused 1 called him, requesting to meet him where on the day accused 1 requested to join Mokata society burial and to seek protection.
He claims accused 1 explained to him that “The Nomzamo shooting was a mistake” and that he (accused 1) and his father- in-law (accused 2) were members of the opposing group and his father-in-law’s friend was shot in Kliptown the week before the tavern shooting which they believed that members of Mokata was responsible for that shooting.
According to the affidavit, he states accused 1 revealed to him that some of the members of Chakala, went to Nomzamo tavern to avenge themselves for the Kliptown killing and had set out to kill members of Mokata who they believed were at the tavern at the time.
The affidavit further explains this stating accused 1 told him that he and accused 2 and other people of Chakala went to the tavern where they unknowingly began shooting randomly outside the tavern, but the members of Mokata had already left.
Accused 3 reveals that he later arrange to handover accused 1 to the Norwood Police Station and they proceeded to also arrest the father-in-law (accused 2) which to his shock, the police then arrested him for defeating the ends of justice. The statement alleges that his statement was taken under duress after the police drove around with him and the other two accused and tortured them.
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He pleaded in his statement, he had no prior criminal offending cases except for a previous arrest on hearsay by one of the same police officers who is part of the same investigation which arrested him now. He said he believed that his was a pattern of him being arrested with allegations from people opposing their burial society
He further assured the court that he was prepared to stand his trial, as the state had no evidence to support its allegations.
He further states that he be released on bail, as he was not a danger to society or would not intimidate or influence witnesses or conceal anything.
The matter will be heard again on January 16 where the lawyers of accused 1-2 and accused 4-5 are expected to inform the court of their intentions to proceed with the formal bail application.
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