Images of the terrorist attacks on September 11 in the United States flashed through the minds of police when they heard of an attempted hijacking of a domestic South African Airways (SAA) flight on June 17, the investigating officer testified in Cape Town on Wednesday.
”At the airport everybody was emotional and worried, running here and there,” said Superintendent Lungisile Manyana at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court.
Manyana was testifying at the bail application of Tinashe Rioga, a 21-year-old Zimbabwean who faces charges of contravening the Civil Aviation Act and of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Rioga allegedly brandished a hypodermic syringe during his abortive hijacking attempt, before being overpowered by passengers on board a Cape Town to Johannesburg flight.
Led by prosecutor Wimpie Els, Manyana told Magistrate Susanna Marais that by the time he took Rioga into custody, the situation was already under control and the task force had subdued the accused.
”The accused was lying outside [the aircraft] with his hands cuffed.”
Manyana said one of the crew members, Nicole Scott, alleged in an affidavit that Rioga had held her around the neck with one hand and had the hypodermic syringe in the other.
”You must fucking open this door,” Scott alleged Rioga said as he demanded to be let into the cockpit, pointing the syringe towards her eyes.
Scott said Rioga had threatened, ”in an aggressive manner and loud tone” to kill her if she did not obey.
Two passengers, including an off-duty South African Airway’s pilot, overpowered Rioga and Scott freed herself.
Manyana was still waiting for the police forensic laboratory to return results of any substances found in the syringe.
Asked what Rioga had offered as explanation for his actions, Manyana said the accused had showed him ”threatening” SMS messages he had received on his cellphone a week before the attempted hijacking.
Manyana said Rioga had thought about the threats and the possibility that the person who had sent them was waiting for him at Johannesburg International airport, and so he tried to divert to plane to Mozambique or Botswana, ”so that he can be safe there”, said Manyana, adding that this was no reason to justify endangering the lives of the other passengers on board the flight.
About possessing the syringe, Rioga said he had wanted to ”inject himself with flu medicine” but no medication was found on his person.
Manyana said the state had a ”very strong” case against the accused, who faced between five and 30 years’ imprisonment if convicted, and said from his personal experience on the police force, Rioga could evade trial if he was granted bail. More so, because the only reason why he was in the country was to complete his final year as a BSc student in applied computer literacy at the University of Cape Town.
Manyana said Rioga was a frequent flyer, visiting family in the US four times over the past two years, as well as family in Zimbabwe.
Josua Greeff, appearing for Rioga, read an affidavit from Rioga into the court record.
In it, Rioga submits that he is not a violent person ”and my previous conduct is testimony to that”.
Rioga said he had no pending cases or prior convictions and will not endanger the lives of members of the public.
He is not married, has no children and has both parents living in Zimbabwe where they are successful business people owning a number of properties.
Both older sisters — one a paediatrician and another an executive marketing manager in the food and beverage industry — and one brother resided in the US, with another brother living in Zimbabwe.
Telling the court he will not evade his trial or try to influence any state witness, Rioga said he will abide by any bail conditions the court set.
”I beg this honourable court to grant me bail in the interests of justice,” he said.
Earlier, the bail application was delayed because of uncertainty about under what schedule of the Criminal Procedure Act Rioga’s bail hearing should be viewed.
It was provisionally changed from schedule one to schedule six after the intervention of Magistrate Marais, who confirmed that schedule six included contraventions of the Civil Aviation Act, as amended, which came into effect on May 20 2005.
According to schedule six, the onus is on the accused to show ”exceptional circumstance” why he must be released on bail.
Schedule 1 includes serious offences such as murder. In such cases the onus is on the state to prove an accused must not be granted bail.
The bail application resumes on July 10. — Sapa