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HE WAS MISTAKENLY, NOT FRAUDULENTLY RELEASED

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MBABANE – “The court should find that I was mistakenly and not fraudulently released from Barberton Maximum Prison.”


This was the submission of murder suspect Sipho Shongwe.
Shongwe, who stands charged with the murder of prominent businessman Victor Gamedze, is adamant that he did not have a hand in the crafting of his alleged fraudulent warrant of liberation.
His submission comes after the court ordered his attorney and that of the State to make written submissions in respect of the issue pertaining to his erroneous/fraudulent release by authorities at the Barberton Maximum Prison on March 25, 2008.


On Thursday, Judge Sipho Nkosi is expected to make a ruling as to whether Shongwe’s release from prison was through fraudulent means or not.  Judge Nkosi previously made it clear that in the event he finds that Shongwe was fraudulently released, he would not be admitted to bail and that would be the close of the bail hearing.


In his written submission, Shongwe argued that the Crown bears the onus on a balance of probabilities that his release from Barberton Maximum Prison was fraudulent.
“The cardinal rule of evidence, namely ‘he who alleges must prove; is applicable to the issue under discussion.  Accordingly, the respondent (Crown) bears the onus,” submitted Shongwe.
He told the court that it was impossible for him to prove the authenticity of the liberation warrant and the court order.


According to Shongwe, this was so because he was currently detained in Swaziland; with his legal team they have no access to any of the aforementioned documents.  The documents include the warrant of liberation, the court order and other documents and records in the possession of the High Court in Pretoria or the Correctional Services in Pretoria and Barberton,. espectively.
He pointed out that these were documents peculiarly with the knowledge and in the possession of the Crown.


“The court has correctly ruled that this issue, pertaining to the applicant’s (Shongwe) erroneous/mistaken/fraudulent release should be properly ventilated,” submitted the murder suspect.
Shongwe also went on to punch holes in the affidavit filed by the Deputy Director of Baberton Maximum Prison, Noah Seshason Nkosi.
In his affidavit, Noah stated that: “The only document available is the applicant’s (Shongwe) admission detail, which shows that he was released fraudulently.”
Shongwe argued that in Noah’s affidavit, there was no basis that was advanced to substantiate the aforementioned allegations.


“Perusal of the document, clearly shows that no possible basis exist on which Judge Nkosi could find that my release was fraudulent,” he argued.
He also pointed out that Noah further mentioned that in terms of their records, he was supposed to remain in detention until 2021 before he was eligible to be considered for parole.
Shongwe argued that Noah only became involved in the matter on February 1, 2018.

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