Jub Jub to hear about bail

2010-03-19 07:30

Johannesburg - Closing arguments and judgment in the bail hearing of hip hop artist Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala are expected in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Five state witnesses and the artist had already testified in the past two days. Tshabalala's lawyer read his statement to the court.

The pair tested positive for morphine and cocaine following a car accident in which four schoolboys were killed in Soweto on March 8, the court heard thus far. Two other boys were critically injured.

On Thursday Jub Jub broke down in tears on the stand. He denied drag racing or taking drugs on the day of the crash.

Protests

A large police contingent was expected outside the court building where stone-throwing students confronted police using rubber bullets and a water cannon on Thursday.

The Congress of SA Students promised to continue its protests, which had drawn several hundred students, on Friday. They have threatened to kill Jub Jub if he received bail.

"You give Jub Jub bail, we kill him, we don't surrender on that one," Cosas provincial chair Ntsako Mogobe told protesters on Thursday.

Despite the heated rhetoric, some students expressed worries that continued protests could harm their education.

"At the end of the year we'll fail, but we won't know why we are failing," said Mulisa Singo.

If there was a teacher's strike at the end of term, which Singo believed was likely, classroom time would be cut even further.

"We better go back to school soon."

Five boys, aged between 15 and 18, were arrested on Wednesday and released into their parents' custody. They were allegedly part of a group that had pelted police vehicles with stones and damaged property. They face charges of public violence.

- SAPA