OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 9.00pm.
BOTH windows of a bakkie, in which two People Against Gangsterism and Drugs supporters died, were closed when a bomb exploded in the vehicle, the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court heard on Tuesday.
The case follows the death of Pagad supporters Faizel Hendricks, 30, and Nurulla Allie, 33, when a bomb exploded in their bakkie in Lansdowne on the Cape Flats on July 30.
Testifying during the bail application of Pagad supporters Anwar Moegamat Francis, 36, and Yusuf Salie, 30, who were also in the bakkie, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Barry Chamberlane of the violent crimes unit said he found the bakkie extensively damaged on arrival at the scene, with its windows blown out and the roof blown off. Inside the bakkie he found three firearms, including a 12-bore shotgun, and a balaclava.
Francis and Salie claim the bomb was hurled at the vehicle during a neighbourhood watch patrol. The State alleges the four were in fact members of Pagad’s military wing, G-Force, and were on their way to launch a bomb attack when the pipe bomb accidentally detonated in their vehicle.
Chamberlane told the court 155 bomb blasts have occurred in the Western Cape since November 1996, killing seven people and injuring 43. He said forensic experts were expected in Cape Town on Wednesday with details of the bomb.
Chamberlane said the investigation had so far only touched on the preliminaries, and if the case went to court he did not expect the trial to start before next year. The hearing continues on Monday.