Murder: Cop denied bail
2009-12-24 07:20
Pietermaritzburg - A policeman accused of killing retired KwaZulu-Natal government official Warwick Dorning was denied bail by the Howick Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
Dorning's murder on November 7 so enraged local residents that 116 people, mainly farmers, signed a petition calling for suspended SAPS Inspector Michael Sokhela to be denied bail. The petition was handed to Magistrate VB Zwane during the hearing.
Zwane said Sokhela's defence had not shown exceptional circumstances justifying the granting of bail. The court had to take into account that murder, theft and robbery were rife in the area, he said. Dorning, 55, farmer and a doctor by profession, was a chief of staff in the KwaZulu-Natal premier's office and retired to his farm Adamshurst, near Howick, in July.
Dorning was in the kitchen of his farmhouse when his wife Dawn was confronted by a gang in her bedroom. A member of the gang shot Dorning in the head. His wife was unhurt. At the time police said they stole a DStv decoder, two cellphones and a video player.
The main charges against Sokhela are Dorning's murder, the couple's aggravated robbery and defeating the ends of justice. A cousin of Sokhela, Welcome Madlala, 34, and Mlungisi Hadebe, 24, pleaded guilty to the murder and aggravated robbery.
Pietermaritzburg High Court Acting Judge Ben van Heerden sentenced the pair to life behind bars for the murder and another 15 years jail for the robbery.
Madlala agreed to testify for the state against Sokhela.
Sokhela's lawyer Louis Barnard said Sokhela had had no part in Dorning's murder and only came into the picture after the murder. The only crimes of which he could be convicted were possession of the Dornings' property taken during the robbery, and defeating the ends of justice.
Investigating officer Inspector Willem de Vos said Sokhela was guilty of murder and aggravated robbery as he had known who the killers and robbers were, had hidden the stolen property in his house and withheld information from investigators. As a policeman he was duty-bound to report it to the police.
Sokhela had, De Vos said, committed crimes for which he was not prosecuted, possibly as a result of intimidation or influence. He also had a violent disposition.
Barnard suggested Sokhela be given bail and made to live in Pietermaritzburg so the people outraged by the murder did not see him in Howick or in the Howick police station. Zwane did not agree to this.
The matter was postponed to January 21 for further investigation.
- SAPA