A man who released snakes in a Johannesburg bank last year was on Wednesday acquitted on one charge of attempted murder, with the other reduced to assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
”Abel Manamela is acquitted of the first charge of attempted murder and the charge should have initially been one of intimidation,” magistrate Lucas van der Schyff said in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Manamela’s bail has, however, been increased from R5 000 to R7 500 because prosecutor Salome van der Wath revealed to the court three previous convictions against Manamela — culpable homicide, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and damage to property.
Manamela denied the previous convictions, and so further investigation of court records is necessary.
Manamela, a building contractor, released five puff adders on the premises of Absa Towers on January 29 last year after a dispute with a manager regarding his loan payments and the repossession of his vehicle.
Amid attempts to catch the reptiles, a contract manager for Absa’s cleaning company, Prestige, was bitten on his finger and had to undergo surgery.
Reading Manamela’s charges, Van der Schyff again sympathised with Manamela about his problems with Absa. However, he concluded that Manamela did not have the right to put people’s lives in danger just because he was unhappy.
”There mere fact that he was wronged by Absa does not give him the right to take matters in his own hands. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” said Van der Schyff.
Manamela will appear in court on July 12 to contest the three previous convictions raised by the prosecutor.
He was still in custody on Wednesday, as he had not yet paid the increased bail. — Sapa