Advocate Annalene van dan Heever, representing the men arrested in the murder investigation of Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes says she’s flabbergasted with the incompetence of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Addressing media after one of her clients, Sphamandla Ngcobo was released, van dan Heever said police were holding those arrested in Cape Town for 48-hours without charging them.
Ngcobo was amongst four other suspects arrested in Cape town, as reported by IOL who claimed the arrests came after police were monitoring their movements all week.
The advocate says it was unethical that the men’s arrests were caught on camera and widely spread on social media, as it violated their rights.
“They were brought to Durban on Monday, the 48-hours expired on Tuesday. What should have happened was that they were supposed to be brought to court on Monday.
From Tuesday, we’ve been dealing with the main crux of the problem is that they were unlawfully in detention. The 48-hours ran out, they were not charged within the 48-hours.”
Advocate van dan Heever said that Ngcobo was linked through a vehicle that was believed to have been used by the suspects on the night AKA was gunned down on Florida road, Durban on 10 February.
Ngcobo was released after the Durban Magistrate’s Court ruled that there was no link between him and the vehicle in question.
Van dan Heever said her client’s release is a win because he now only faces charges of robbery for a separate crime, as reported by ECR Newswatch.
“We are going to deal with the bail application. We are going to challenge the strength of the State’s case at that point in time.
Everybody takes notice of the fact that he is not being charged with anything to do with AKA’s assassination despite what is being reported for days on end.”
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