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Special ops soldiers linked to murder of Hawks officer Mathipa granted bail

Special ops soldiers linked to murder of Hawks officer Mathipa granted bail

TimesLIVE11-07-2025
The 12 South African National Defence Force members accused of the murder of Hawks officer Lt-Col Frans Mathipa were granted R10,000 bail each on Friday.
The state has announced it will appeal against the decision by the Randburg magistrate's court.
The court ruled they have shown circumstances that warrant their release on bail and that the state failed to show the role of each accused in the charges.
There was no evidence they would intimidate state witnesses, the court ruled.
The defence teams successfully argued there was no evidence to support that the soldiers are a danger to society or that they will avoid the trial.
The state previously pushed for the soldiers to be denied bail, arguing they would compromise police investigations and endanger the safety of the public if granted bail.
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