Lourens Botha and Mathew Mullaji were facing threats to
commit murder charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Dennis
Mangosi.
Mr Mangosi remanded the two in custody for bail ruling
today despite a bail consent from deputy prosecutor in charge Mr Michael Reza.
The State led by Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti consented to bail
and Mr Mangosi questioned why this was the case to which the former replied
that there were no compelling reasons for continued detention of the accused
persons.
“The State is not opposing bail as we believe that the two
accused persons will not abscond given the charges they are facing,” said Mr
Mutsokoti.
The lawyer representing the suspects Mr Admire Rubaya told
the court that Ofer boasted to the accused persons that even if the State
consented to bail, they would not be freed as he was well connected.
Mr Rubaya said Ofer was criminally abusing the justice
system of the country adding that his clients were now afraid that they would
languish in jail as a result of Ofer’s alleged connections.
“Bail is a constitutional right for everyone and should not
be denied because of one’s nationality said Mr Rubaya.
Mr Rubaya further submitted that there was no word that
threatened anyone’s life from the messages before the court.
It is alleged that between September 1 and last week, Botha
and Mullaji together with their accomplice Dov Morgan, who is still at large,
sent messages threatening the life of Ofer using cellphones with South African
numbers.
One of the messages read: “Will deal with you thoroughly.
If I fail to deal with you on earth, I will deal with you in Mars.”
The court heard that the words instilled fear in Ofer who
now believed the accused persons and their accomplice would harm him.
Ofer reported the alleged threats to police leading to the
arrest of Botha and Mullaji. Herald
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