Accused in Pienaar murder’s bail rejected

*PRESS RELEASE

The Mokopane Magistrate’s Court today rejected Tsholofelo Joseph Motsoane’s bail application. According to this court, Motsoane is a professional criminal and he will probably offend again. Motsoane is accused of the murder of the well-known lawyer Schalk Pienaar in 2022. AfriForum’s private prosecution unit represents the Pienaar family in this case and supported Pienaar’s widow, Fransie, and daughter, Bardien, in court.

The accused faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and other firearms-related charges. Motsoane is also alleged to have driven the getaway vehicle. The Pienaar family approached the unit for help last year after numerous delays in settling the case. A trial date was finally set.

In his ruling, Magistrate JJ Venter referred to Motsoane’s extensive criminal record since 2003 and that he had already been found guilty in several cases and served sentences – including for attempted murder, robbery and theft. He was also convicted of escape while awaiting trial in two of these cases.

Venter further found that Motsoane had failed to convince the court that exceptional circumstances justified his release on bail. The magistrate praised Detective Captain Ross Rossouw for his thorough affidavit and said that it was one of the best statements against a bail application that he had read in his career. The accused just stood in the dock and stared at Venter with a blank expression throughout the hour-long verdict.

Pienaar was murdered on 19 September 2022 in the driveway of his home – he was shot ten times. Motsoane was arrested in October 2022 in connection with this murder. A second suspect was also arrested but the charges against him were dropped. Pienaar’s murder was allegedly an assassination, but the motive was not presented in court.

After the verdict, Fransie Pienaar said she was relieved that Motsoane’s bail had been rejected. “It is difficult to have to sit through these proceedings and relive that night when Schalk was killed. It is difficult to accept that the man, who was labeled by the court as a career criminal, was not behind bars and could continue to commit crimes. Schalk believed in justice and in the criminal justice system. We are now going to focus on the court case that will take place later this year. I am grateful for the support from AfriForum’s side,” she says.

Barry Bateman, spokesman for the unit, welcomed the ruling. “The magistrate properly took into account all the evidence surrounding Motsoane’s criminal record. But more importantly, he found that the state had a fairly strong case. He referred to evidence that helped place Motsoane’s vehicle at the scene as well as his own admission. Although Motsoane says that his confession was made under duress, this did not convince the magistrate,” says Bateman.

The trial was scheduled for 22 to 26 July in the High Court in Polokwane.

source:Beskuldigde in Pienaar-moord se borg afgekeur (find-it.co.za)