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DURBAN – The state case against 11 people accused of a series of terror-related incidents around Durban this year was seriously mistreated on Tuesday after the Verulam court of first instance granted them bail .
Magistrate Irfan Khalil was heard by the Verulam family court in a heightened security environment. He stated that the fact that the state relies on the parade of identity – considered erroneous in many respects – and the lack of clear evidence linking the accused and the crimes did not justify men being in custody.
Khalil said that although there are enough "pieces" that connect some of the defendants to the multitude of charges, it may take another 12 months for the investigation to be concluded and two other years for the case to be tried by the High Court.
The accused had already been detained for 53 days.
They are accused of placing explosive devices in Durban earlier this year and attacking the Imam Hussain mosque in Verulam in May, resulting in the death of one man.
Khalil concluded at the blatant absence of evidence linking the two men to the most serious charges of murder, attempted murder and arson, including the alleged leader and man of Durban's business, Farad Hoomer, released on bail of 200,000 rand.
The accused are punishable under Schedule 6 offenses, including murder, extortion and arson, as well as charges under the South American Anti-Terrorism Act. African known as the Law on the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities, while some are the subject of kidnapping charges.
Khalil found that while there was evidence suggesting that Hoomer was involved in at least the racketeering of extortion, there were hardly any others. He added that "the evidence does not corroborate the incarceration", although "other evidence is losing the impression that it could be related to ISIS".
"At best, there is prima facie evidence against Hoomer, though weak, binding him to the kidnapping leader. There is little, if any, evidence against Hoomer. Pieces and pieces that connect him to [the extortion charges], [however] the totality of the evidence does indeed [still] arouse suspicion, "said Khalil.
He added that the two defendants, Ahmed Haffejee, 28, belonging to a WhatsApp group called Jundullah – which means God's soldiers – have not linked Haffejee to ISIS. Haffejee was released on bail of 150,000 rand.
Khalil said any link between Haffejee and another WhatsApp member called Ahmed Jackson Mussa, who was involved in the murder of British botanists Rachel and Rodney Saunders in February in northern KwaZulu-Natal, was also "of little consequence".
He said Tanzanian nationals Thabit Said Mwenda and Seiph Mohamed and Congolese Amani Mayani had been arrested only because they lived at 14 Fulham Road, Reservoir Hills, Durban.
The state claimed that the house was a base of activity for the Islamic State where all the defendants had been arrested.
However, men claim that they were there for an "inauguration" prayer in order to bless the house as a place of worship.
The remaining defendants, Mohamad Akbar, Abubaker Ali of Tanzania, Abasi Juma, Congolese refugee Mohammed Adil Sobruin, as well as Burundians Iddy Omari and Ndikumana Shabani were also released on bail, with warnings ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 rand.
According to Khalil, while some of the defendants were illegally in the country and those with refugee status could become obsolete, the immigration officials pledged not to consider deporting them until the end of the trial.
Each accused must report to the Durban Central Police Station every Wednesday from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, hand over travel documents, leave the province without permission, or interfere with witnesses.
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African News Agency (ANA)
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