The bail application brought last month by a man alleged to have used a fake bomb to rob a bank, may have to start afresh if not finalised by the end of June.
A senior bail magistrate in the Cape Town regional Court, Sol Sauerman, said on Monday that he was retiring at the end of June, and would not be available afterwards to preside over the hearing of Zainodien Cedric Jerome Whittaker.
The hearing, which was to have resumed on Monday, took the unexpected turn due to the absence on circuit of Regional Court prosecutor Jaco Hough, who was especially appointed to oppose Whittaker’s bail application.
At the request of prosecutor Nokwondo Gouiwe, standing in for Hough, the hearing was postponed to June 21 — after no further progress. Whittaker is alleged to have used a fake bomb in April to rob an American Express Travel Service.
At the previous hearing, the investigating officer told the court that the fake bomb used in the robbery in April consisted of pieces of broomstick disguised as dynamite. The pieces were wrapped in brown paper, and electrical and masking tape, and different pieces of wiring were attached to a computer board, making it look like a timing device. – Sapa