Twelve men facing various charges in relation to the recent violent unrest in Phoenix where over 20 people were killed appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 30 July.
The men who made their second court appearance after the matter was adjourned for bail consideration last week, face charges of murder, attempted murder, possession of stolen property, malicious injury to property, possession of prohibited firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition among other serious charges.
The accused appeared before the court separately. Outside the court, church organisations, members of the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) came to court in their numbers. Demonstrators held placards that denounced racism and chanted struggle songs throughout the court proceedings.
Speaking to the Phoenix Tabloid outside the court, MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu who appeared at court in the capacity of Provincial Executive Committee member of the ANC said: “We are here today to call for justice for the families who lost loved ones in Phoenix, but also, to communicate a clear message that the senseless killings by a small group of vigilantes of Indian origin does not define the character and ethos of the people of Indian origin. We must work to isolate this minority group of criminals. I’m happy that we are standing together side-by-side with compatriots of Indian origin to say, let the law take its course, let’s stand for justice and let’s isolate all criminal elements.”
A Phoenix resident who only identified himself as Zain told The Phoenix Tabloid that he was at court to support his close friends who were arrested. He said that people have the wrong perception of what happened. “We are not racist in Phoenix – there is no division between Indians and Black people. We live together in Phoenix and never had any issues over the years. Our children go to the same schools, eat and play together. People from outside of Phoenix must not be misled,” said Zain.
Phoenix community activist, Melasa Isaiah said, “We are overwhelmed with the mayhem that our community encountered, however this needs to stop. Peace, love and unity must be restored amongst our people from diverse races. I don’t believe that race has anything to do with this, but this is an act of criminality and lives should not have been lost. This could have been prevented. One life lost is too many. Now is the time for us to move towards uniting and living in peace and harmony with each other.”
The state opposed bail on eleven of the accused and granted R5000 bail to Shikaar Sewlall who the court found to have no previous convictions and no pending cases against him. Sewlall will return to court in September. Nine of the accused were all remanded in custody at the Durban Central police cells and two at Westville Prison. The men will be appearing at the criminal court in Verulam for a formal bail hearing on separate days during the course of next week.
