STATE WONT GIVE SHONGWE LIST OF WITNESSES

MBABANE – The Crown fears for the safety of its witnesses in the event a list of them was provided to murder suspect Sipho Shongwe.

According to the Crown, once Shongwe was provided with the list of witnesses, they will be intimidated and will not testify against him.
This is contained in the State’s heads of argument where it is vigorously opposing Shongwe’s bail application.

Shongwe, who hails from Ngculwini, stands charged with the murder of prominent businessman and football administrator Victor Gamedze. In his application for bail, he had submitted that the Crown had not provided him with the list of witnesses in the matter.

In its opposing papers the Crown also highlighted that the unavailability of a witnesses protection Act in the country was also one of the reasons it was reluctant to release the list of witnesses to Shongwe.
It was further the Crown’s submission that Section 96 (4) (c) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act provides that: “The refusal to grant bail and the detention of an accused in custody shall be in the interest of justice where one or more of the following grounds are established; where there is a likelihood that the accused, if released on bail, may attempt to influence or intimidate witnesses or to conceal or destroy evidence.”

It was previously alleged that Shongwe intended to kill some of his co-accused in the matter once he was released from custody.  This was before the arrest of his co-accused, Mbuso Ncaza Nkosi and Siphiwe Ngubeni.
Principal Crown Counsel Absalom Makhanya also told the court that it would be difficult to enforce bail conditions once Shongwe was released.

“Applicant (Shongwe) has failed to tell the court how he entered Swaziland upon his alleged release on parole from Barberton Maximum Prison,” submitted the principal Crown counsel.
According to the Crown, there was also a likelihood that Shongwe, if released on bail, might undermine or jeopardise the objectives or the proper functioning of the criminal justice system, including the bail system.
It was also the State’s argument that Shongwe allegedly supplied the court with false information that he was released on parole while he knew very well that he was fraudulently released.
“We submit that applicant concealed the fact that he was convicted of other offences relating to murder, attempted murder and robbery in the Republic of South Africa,” contended the State. The principal Crown counsel argued that this on its own demonstrated to the court the deceptive type of person Shongwe was.

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