Outcries of shock and disbelief erupted inside the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 30 June, when the second accused in the Phiphidi murder case was granted bail of R10 000. He is accused of being involved in the brutal attack on the Magogona family over the Easter weekend in April this year.
Avhakholwi Madzinge (33) and Phathutshedzo Muvari (40) were each charged with two counts of murder and one of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm after they had allegedly broken into the couple's home in the early morning hours of 14 April and brutally killed Ms Norah Magogona with a hoe. Mr Phanuel Magogona succumbed to his injuries sustained during the attack a few weeks later.
On 9 June this year, Madzinge's bail application was denied by magistrate Mukoma Maiwashe, who said that no exceptional circumstances had been put forward by the defence to warrant the accused to be granted bail. The court also took into account the degree of the violence during the commission of the offence, as well as the public outrage. According to Maiwashe, releasing him on bail would not have been in the best interests of the community.
Muvari appeared for the first time that same day (9 June), with his bail application being postponed to 17 June and again to 30 June.
In granting him bail, the court indicated that the defence had managed to prove that the State's case was weak, as Muvari's arrest relied on hearsay evidence by the victims' next of kin. Muvari's case was postponed to 10 August 2022 for further investigations.
The court's decision to grant him bail came as a great shock to the family and supporting community members, who had earlier on submitted three memorandums in protest of the granting of bail. Ms Ivy Marandela, the sister of the late Phanuel Magogona, broke down in tears, calling on her brother's spirit not to give his killers peace and rest. She had to be helped from the court building by family members.
Ms Naledzani Miriam Mulelu, deputy chairperson of the Phiphidi Humuhumu Civic Association, was equally disappointed about the outcome. "As a community, we will never be safe as criminals are set free by the courts. It is only those with money who have the final say and can buy their freedom, even after committing serious crimes. The release of this man came as the worst news ever. We were so sure that he would be kept safely behind bars until the finalisation of his case," she said.
Mr Rudzani Mathelemusa of the Phiphidi Task Team said that crime in Phiphidi was very high while perpetrators were not being arrested. "We have so many violent cases where people lost their lives, but the police have not been able to crack those cases. We are very concerned about this recent one where there is enough evidence, but the court decides to free the suspect. This is a miscarriage of justice, and we suspect it to be deliberate. We are still going to sit down with all structures in the village and chart the way forward," he said.