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Natheniel was found and shot by police near this truck on the night of August 26.
- Sergeant Voster Netshiongolo, one of three policemen accused of killing Nateniël Julies was released on bail at Protea Magistrates Court.
- Netshiongolo’s conditions of bail include a provision that he must not interfere with witnesses and investigators.
- Netshiongolo, who has since been suspended, provided the court with an alternate residential address that was positively verified.
The relatives of the slain Eldorado Park, 16-year-old Nateniël Julies, were unable to contain their emotions in Protea Magistrates Court on Friday when one of the police officers charged with his murder was released on bail of 10,000 rand .
“I’m not happy today. How can you take a life and then get a R10,000 bond? I don’t understand how the system works,” Julies emotional mother Bridget Harris said out of court after the trial.
Magistrate David Mhango granted Sergeant Voster Netshiongolo’s request for bail based on new facts.
The police officer, who has since been suspended, is charged with the murder along with Officer Caylene Whiteboy and Sergeant Simon Scorpion Ndyalvane.
In the bail request, Netshiongolo told the court that he had been served with a suspension letter and that he was no longer a police officer, which meant that he would not have access to the Eldorado Park Police Station and would not be fit to interfere. with research.
He also stated that it would be impossible for him to interfere because the investigation is at an advanced stage.
Netshiongolo said he had no intention of interfering with the state’s witnesses.
He provided the court with an alternate address that was positively verified by the investigating officer. The officer presented an address that belonged to his parents. He assured the court that he would not evade his judgment.
In passing judgment, Mhango said: “The question before the court is whether plaintiff number three has discharged the responsibility that falls on him … The investigations, according to the State, are almost complete, [and] Therefore, I conclude that applicant number three has made a case on his new facts on which bail can be granted and, accordingly, I grant him bail … ”
READ | 3 Cops Linked to Nateniël Julies Murder Denied Bail, Court Fears Eldorado Park Riots
As part of the conditions of your bail, you are prohibited from interfering directly or indirectly with witnesses and officers investigating the case. You also have to report regularly to a police station.
Christmas without Nateniël
Shedding tears, Harris said she had no words. “I do not know what to feel”.
He said it would be their first Christmas without their son and that they now had to deal with the fact that bail had been granted to one of the alleged killers.
“They have taken a child, my life, a son and a brother from me. I do not know what to feel.
“I don’t know what is going to happen now in Eldorado Park because I think even now the residents are angry,” said the mother.
Julies’ grandfather James was also crying after the trial and said the family did not expect the court to grant bail. However, they could do nothing but let the law take its course, he added.
“The [magistrate] has come to a different conclusion [and] that’s her prerogative and we have to accept her as a family and move on. We know it is frustrating and we will have a Christmas without Nateniël, “said Grandpa as he paused to hold back tears.
Julies was killed near his home, and his death sparked national outrage. Eldorado Park residents protested.
The three policemen were denied bail in September.
Call for calm
Phindi Mjonondwane, a spokesperson for the Gauteng National Prosecution Authority (NPA), said the NPA did its best and argued that there was no new data in the police officer’s bail request.
“But the court ruled otherwise. However, it is not the end of the matter,” added Mjonondwane.
Reacting to the public outcry, Mjonondwane said: “We cannot anticipate what will happen in terms of public disturbances, but it was one of our arguments in court that his release on bail would undermine public security and order as well. Like the NPA , we accept the court decision [because] we understand how the law works. ”
Mjonondwane called on the public to allow the law to run its course and said the matter is far from over.
The case was postponed until January 27 for further investigation.
