SIBUSISO DENIED BAIL AGAIN

MBABANE- The bail application of former Minister Sibusiso Shongwe has been dismissed again.

Shongwe was first denied bail by Judge Qinisile Mabuza two weeks ago, where she said he was a flight risk.
In dismissing his initial bail application, Judge Mabuza also found that Shongwe was likely to interfere with crown witnesses upon his release, that police were not through with their investigations and that he was likely to interfere with investigations.

Shongwe’s new bail application was dismissed by High Court Judge Nkululeko Hlophe yesterday.

silence

As Judge Hlophe read the 29-page judgment, the silence in the courtroom was so deafening you could hear a pin drop. Shongwe, who was in a sombre mood remained affixed in the accused docket as the judgment was being read out by the judge.
The judge took approximately 40 minutes to read his comprehensive judgment.

Judge Hlophe noted that on some aspects of the matter Shongwe was clearly reopening his initial bail application and appeared to be commencing afresh on issues that had already been determined in the earlier application.
“He, in this sense, pleaded in his current founding affidavit contentions that had the effect of negating the findings of fact by Judge Mabuza, in the initial application.

“This includes contentions aimed at showing that he was not a flight risk and that he was not going to interfere with crown witnesses,” said Judge Hlophe.

The judge said he was of the considered view that such assertions were nothing new, particularly because they were part of those grounds on which the dismissal of the initial application was based.

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