Right, let's get out to the courts. Then. This is going on at the Randburg Magistrates Court twelve members of the South African National Defense Force and they're facing a number of charges related to the murder of Hawk's investigator Franz Martipa almost two years ago. You may recall we had any Van fear and from open Secrets giving us background on that case. So what happened in the courts, Nako Kanya and tumble our ewn reported colleague is there
was there and is keeping an eye on things. Nako Kanya, How far has the case progressed? What do we know so far?
Good afternoon, John, to you and the listeners as well. So really a long day in terms of procedure. We've dealt with I think the bulk of the bail application throughout the day. The matter has just been rolled over a few minutes ago until Thursday for further hearing, just to sort out the addresses of some of the accused, being South African National Defense Forced members, particularly of the
special forces. John, there just was some concerns about which address for the purpose of the bail application was more suitable that of their army barracks or that of their where their families really are. So the court just wanting the defense lawyers of some of the accused to sort that out and come back and having verified with the investigating officer the exact residential addresses of those accused in
the matter. But other than that John, it really just was a day of going through the applications and the statements made by the accused to the court in furnishing their requests for bail or asking for five thousand rand bail, or saying to the courts that they are upstanding members of the public, that they don't plan on, you know,
contacting any of the possible witnesses and the matter. In fact, they don't know any of the witnesses in the matter, telling the court that they in fact also even though against John at this point, and I made this point a little earlier, that we're not at the stage where they need to make a plea to the court, but they just wanted to tell the court as early on as now that they really have no business in this
particular matter. They don't know the victim, the first being Frank Matipo, who was killed in twenty twenty three in August. They say they have no knowledge of his murder, no knowledge of the abduction of two foreign nationals at the Mall of Africa either. And we're only finding out, John, just as we walked out of the court that in fact there are a total of three murder charges that they're going to face, with the exception of accused number eleven.
So initially, and Open Secrets would have told you this as well. In some of their coverage early on, it was only thoughts that France Matifa was the only person who may have murdered been murdered, even though there were suspicions that this particular special forces group was involved with
much more sinister dealings. But the NPA confirming to us just a few moments ago, John, that in fact, the people who were abducted from the Mall of Africa, who were suspected to the ISIS of sas Kits twenty twenty two, haven't that now also been declared dead. And so the additional two murder charges that we're now seeing will include then of those two who were abducted, that of the bodyguard, as well as Abdilla Abbertigo, who was the ISIS associates.
We are told, so three kinds of murder and then of course the ones that you did mention a fraud of theft, of making false statements as well, and that's where we are again. It will be rolled over to Thursday just to fine lines the matter of the residential addresses, and then the bail outcome will then be made we expect later on in the week.
Thanks so much, very full picture of what happened in that Randberg court. Twelve members of the ESSAYNDF facing very serious charges. Indeed, it's twenty five minutes past three