By Johnathan Paoli
The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has granted murder-accused businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe bail of R400 000, overturning an earlier ruling by the Alexandra Regional Court.
In delivering judgment, Judge Brad Wanless ruled that the state had failed to present any substantive evidence that releasing Molefe on bail would undermine the interests of justice.
“This court finds that the opposition of [the state] to the appellant for not being granted bail is not based on any real evidence,” Wanless said, adding that the state’s case rested heavily on speculation and circumstantial claims.
Molefe, 61, is accused of orchestrating the November 2022 murders of popular music producer and nightclub owner Oupa John Sefoka, better known as DJ Sumbody, and his bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sandile Myeza.
He faces five separate murder charges across multiple cases, including the killing of civil engineer Armand Swart, whose company had uncovered a 4 6500% mark-up on engineering parts for a Transnet tender. About two weeks before Swart shot 23 times, his company filed a whistleblower report.
Prosecutors allege Molefe is at the centre of a sprawling organised crime syndicate operating between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Wanless stressed that while courts are entitled to deny bail on circumstantial grounds, there must be a proper basis to conclude that release would endanger the public or obstruct justice.
In this case, he said, such a basis was absent.
“The answering and supplementary affidavits filed by the state were highly speculative and lacking in real facts. No objective evidence has been placed before this court to show that granting bail would conflict with the provisions of the Bail Act,” Wanless said.
The court ordered that Molefe be released on R400 000 bail, in addition to R100 000 bail already granted under a separate Pretoria High Court case, bringing his total bail to R500 000.
The ruling comes amid heightened public attention on Molefe’s alleged underworld connections.
The state has not yet confirmed whether it will seek to appeal the ruling.
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