Rustenburg - Charges against a man accused of smashing windows at the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court in the North West have been withdrawn, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday.
NPA spokesperson in the province, Henry Mamothame, said charges against Sibongile Dude, 35, were withdrawn after the State’s key witness deviated from his original statements during trial.
“The security guard who the State relied on to lead its evidence-in-chief told the court that he did not see the accused committing the crime. This weakened the State’s case as there was not sufficient evidence linking Dube to the alleged offence,” he said.
“The reasons for the key witness to deviate from the original statement is unknown and, regrettably, the matter had to be withdrawn.”
Dube was arrested on January 9 on suspicion of smashing windows at the Vryburg court. He was charged with malicious property damage.
At the time of his arrest, the security officer who was on duty alleged he heard windows being smashed and upon investigation, he saw Dube running away from the scene.
He claimed that he gave chase, caught Dube and then called the police, who arrested him and formally charged him.
During his appearance in court on January 17, Dube opted to represent himself and told the court that he intends to plead guilty to his offence.
He, however, changed his mind later and requested Legal Aid representation.
He claimed his actions were driven by anger, following a three-month jail sentence he served for failing to appear in court on a separate offence in June 2020.
He also attributed his anger to a two-year sentence he received in 2009 on an assault case.
“He alleges he had a valid reason for not attending court but was nonetheless sentenced. However, the State was unable to use his confession as evidence as it was not a formal admission and the charges had not been presented to him before sourcing the services of a legal representative,” Mamothame said.
IOL