About 56 Military veterans will appear in court in connectiuon with hostage situatuion. Image via Twitter: Carl Niehaus
@niehaus_carl
Ministers’ hostage drama: Case against military veterans WITHDRAWN
In October 2021, dozens of military veterans held two ministers and a deputy minister against their will and were subsequently arrested
About 56 Military veterans will appear in court in connectiuon with hostage situatuion. Image via Twitter: Carl Niehaus
@niehaus_carl
The case against the 53 military veterans taking two ministers and a deputy minister hostage has been withdrawn, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced.
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KIDNAPPING-ACCUSED MILITARY VETERANS TO BE REIMBURSED FOR BAIL
The group made an appearance at the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court earlier on Tuesday, 17 May 2022. After their arrest in October, they were granted R500 bail each, now the dropping of the charges means they will be reimbursed.
“The matter was withdrawn after the defence made representations to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in Gauteng Division. Since the trial is not proceeding, the R500 bail paid to secure the veteran’s attendance in court will be reimbursed to them,” said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
HERE’S A REMINDER: On 14 October 2021, Defence Minister Thandi Modise, her deputy Thabang Makwetla and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele were held hostage by the disgruntled ex-combatants, whom they had been meeting to iron out their grievances. The group was initially scheduled to meet with Deputy President David Mabuza, however this seemingly did not happen – something which they were quite unhappy about. The military veterans have a series of demands from government, chief among them is a once-off R4 million payment, for their contribution to the fight against apartheid.
The incident was widely condemned by government, despite the fact that Modise went on to say they never felt they were in any danger during the kidnapping.
“We did not feel that our lives were in danger. We were unhappy about being refused to leave when the meeting had clearly aborted. We do not think that any citizen, whether they had volunteered to fight for the liberation of this country, has any right to interfere with any individual,” she said at the time.
