Circus+in+court+for+arrested+in+church+raid,+Jeremy+Gordin,+Sindy



=‘Circus in court’ for those arrested in church raid=


 * Jeremy Gordin, The Sunday Independent, Johannesburg, 3 February 2008**

The Johannesburg magistrates court was turned into "a complete circus" when advocates representing the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) tried to get bail for 15 of the roughly 300 people arrested in last week's midnight police raid at the Central Methodist Church.

All of those who applied for bail on Friday had their cases postponed, were remanded in custody and sent back to jail.

Police said earlier the raid had been in response to complaints that robbers were living in the church in the Johannesburg central business district.

According to a report handed to Janet Love, the national director of the LRC, the team of four advocates, including Matthew Welz, were initially told by a magistrate, known only as Magistrate Du Pisani, who was presiding in court two, that they could not consult with the 15 prisoners who had been brought to court from the cells at Johannesburg central police station on Friday afternoon.

This was because court hours were "running out", the magistrate "wished to go home and be with her family", and because no interpreters were available.

Welz said there was no basis for believing that the accused could not speak English, and that the accused had every right to indicate whether they wanted to be represented by the LRC and apply for bail.

The magistrate adjourned the court “for five minutes” – and the LRC received instructions to appear for all of the accused.

Each accused also said he or she wanted to apply for bail. All waived their rights to a translator since it was clear that, if they did not, the trial would be adjourned until Monday and they would be put back into jail.

Then, the report reads, each of the accused was called by name – no case numbers were read out – and each was told that he was being charged under section 49 of the Immigration Act, that he had no valid papers, and there was no interpreter - so the prosecutor wanted a remand of each case until an interpreter was available.

Du Pisani then asked the prosecutor which language each of the 15 accused people spoke. Kirsty Retallack, the prosecutor, said the accused spoke "Zimbabwean". The magistrate then asked each accused whether he or she spoke Shona or Ndebele.

Welz told the court that all the accused had given up their rights to an interpreter, that the application for a postponement had no basis, and that the accused wanted to apply for bail. Section 49 of the act, Welz said, did not in any case constitute an offence - the state had to prove a contravention of one of the provisions of the act.

The report continues that Magistrate Du Pisani said she would "ascertain the position of each of the accused" - "and even before the prosecutor addressed the court, the magistrate asked each accused in an aggressive manner whether they spoke 'Shona' or 'Ndebele'. If the accused indicated that he spoke English, the question was asked by the magistrate again, in some cases up to three times, with increasing aggression and loudness."

Welz's objections were apparently simply ignored. In the case of one of the accused, Thulani Ndlovu, Welz told the court that Ndlovu had said he was a minor and that a police officer had told him he would be released if he paid R300. Du Pisani asked the accused if he confirmed this version. When he hesitated, Du Pisani said Ndlovu obviously couldn't speak English - and the matter would be remanded, though Ndlovu would be sent to the district surgeon to ascertain his correct age and would also be sent to a place of safety.

In the end, Du Pisani refused bail to all the applicants - "in some cases," according to the report, "the magistrate ordered a postponement before the prosecutor had even asked for one". The court adjourned at 6pm, but no one was given bail.

Love said on Saturday that the LRC was extremely concerned about the amount of time it took lawyers to get access to the detainees; the delays experienced by a nurse from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who went to Johannesburg police station after MSF had been informed that some of the detainees were on anti-retrovirals and some suffered from TB; the fate of the other 30 people who were supposed to have appeared in court but simply never arrived; the physical treatment of detainees, given the reports made by some of them to counsel; the vagueness of the charges against the accused; and the absence of interpreters.

Transcribed from hard copy.

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