Soccer player Benedict Vilakazi, who is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl, was granted bail of R1 000 in the Johannesburg Regional Court on Thursday afternoon.
This follows an urgent application by his legal team to have his bail reinstated after magistrate Naomi Manaka earlier revoked it when he failed to appear before her at 8.30am.
Vilakazi and his lawyers spent Thursday morning at the Johannesburg High Court where they were granted an order to have the rape case postponed on the grounds that a full investigation has not yet been completed.
In granting Vilakazi bail, magistrate Zacharia Machobane said the state’s case against the soccer player is weak and thus exceptional circumstances apply.
However, he warned Vilakazi to respect his bail conditions and to appear punctually at 8am on every future court date.
”The state’s case against him is weak; he thereby proves exceptional circumstances,” Machobane said.
Vilakazi is due to appear again on Monday, when a trial date will be arranged.
Vilakazi was earlier led down to the cells of the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court after Manaka revoked his bail. — Sapa