The gardener implicated in the kidnapping of Ismail Rajah has been granted bail, despite the businessman fingering him as one of his captors.
The shocking judgement was handed down in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Elijah Silinga, 30, is one of the six men accused of holding Rajah, the founder of Good Hope Construction, captive.
However Silinga will remain in custody until his next court date on Wednesday, when his bail amount and conditions will be stipulated.
Rajah, 69, was snatched as he pulled up at his business in Parow Valley on 9 March, and was rescued at a house in Khayelitsha on 28 June by police.
Silinga along with Amosse Manyisa, Julio Langa and Thamsanqa Mvinjelwa were arrested.
Police then revealed that the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping, Luntu Ndika-Ndika, had been arrested weeks before.
Silinga’s co-accused abandoned their bail application after the State charged them with seven counts for their alleged involvement in criminal gang activity, including kidnappings for ransom.
They face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, attempted extortion, attempted murder, assault and intimidation.
According to Silinga, he worked as a gardener at the home and was not aware of Rajah being held there.
He said on the day of the arrest, he was on his way to buy entjies for Mvinjelwa when SAPS special task force nabbed him.
During the bail application it was revealed that Rajah was kept in chains, tortured and electrocuted.
Meanwhile, an ex-employee at Good Hope Plasterers says he has lost his faith in the judicial system.
“Maybe this magistrate will only understand the gravity of a crime if she is raped and her rape accused is set free. That is the only time she will feel what it’s like being kept in captivity for 111 days,” says the man.
“The problem in South Africa is not only our policing but our judicial system's relaxed approach to crime.
“Somebody who was caught at the scene of the crime and was identified by the victim as somebody who has been there on a regular basis where he was held captive, and his story about buying cigarettes and Eno is plausible to a judge.”
The man added that Silinga didn’t have to do much to be set free: “The garden boy at a place which doesn’t even have a garden is plausible to a judge.
“And what was the point of making the victim do the ID parade?
“... So you were looking for every conceivable excuse to grant bail.
He says the ID parade was a traumatic experience for Rajah.
“You have to relive that nightmare where somebody chained you and then you find yourself in a scenario where a magistrate says she doesn’t want the media in court to take photos.
“You glorify these guys by refusing their photos to be exposed.
“What faith are we supposed to have in the judicial system?
“Magistrates like this should hang their heads in shame, they are 50% of what is wrong in our society. As a criminal, I would want to appear in front of an idiot like this.”