Ex-cop held over alleged political 'hit' fails in another bail bid
Image: File
MURDER accused Bulelani Yosana has failed to convince the Western Cape that the State's case against him has considerably weakened after a Section 204 witness recanted on their statement.
Yosana is currently awaiting trial alongside accused hitman James Easton for the contract murder of Bloekombos teacher and ANC activist Vuyo Dana. A trial date is yet to be set for the matter.
After a previous unsuccessful attempt, Yosana, a former police officer and ANC branch secretary, filed a new bail bid appeal with the High Court, citing the recanted statement, that a trial date remains unset, and that his bank account is about to be closed for non-compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
Dana was shot and killed at his home in February 2022 while on his way to work at Bloekombos Senior Secondary School, in Kraaifontein, in what has been alleged to be a politically-motivated killing.
Yosana brought the second bail application on the basis that new facts have arisen since the initial bail court (Regional Court) refused to admit him on bail, pending the finalisation of his trial.
Yosana and Easton face a variety of charges including a contravention of Section 18 of the Riotous Assemblies Act, conspiracy to murder, and murder.
Through his attorney, Yosana submitted that following the bail application hearing, and the appeal, they discovered a statement in which the Section 204 witness recanted what he stated in his Section 204 affidavit.
According to Yosana's lawyer, there are no eyewitness accounts that place Yosana on the scene, and he claims that due to the recanting statement, there was insufficient evidence.
'According to Mr Booth (Yosana's attorney), this recanting statement was never discovered by the State, and as such, it alters the overall picture of the State's case.
'In this (newly) discovered statement, the Section 204 witness is recanting what he initially told the police about the involvement of the applicant (Yosana) in the commission of the offences the applicant is arraigned on. Booth advanced the argument that the State case is based primarily on the evidence of the Section 204 witness.
'Booth's argument postulates that if the Section 204 witness has recanted his original police affidavit, wherein he originally implicated the applicant in the crimes, the necessary corollary is that the State's case has since been considerably weakened. According to the applicant, this discovery presents an insurmountable hurdle for the State,' the court record read.
The State did not dispute that the Section 204 witness has since recanted his first key pre-trial statement.
'According to the State's heads of argument, the Section 204 witness filed a recanting statement after the residence of the witness was visited by the applicant and after the applicant's arrest. To this end, the State specifically contends that the recanting statement is a product of interference with a State witness,' the judgment further read.
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