Three KFC race assault accused denied bail

Three of the five men arrested for an alleged assault of a black couple at a KFC chicken outlet earlier this month were denied bail on Wednesday.

Pretoria North Magistrate Mothloki Rapulana said Stephan Nel‚ 39‚ DJ van Rooyen‚ 21‚ and Joshua Schultz‚ 21‚ have failed to prove it was in the interests of justice to release them on bail.

"Bail is therefore denied for accused 1 (Nel)‚ accused 2 (Van Rooyen) and accused 5 (Schultz)‚" Rapulana said.

Ockert Muller‚ 20‚ was released on bail on August 4 - a day after the incident - and Marius Harding‚ 21‚ abandoned his bail bid.

All five men have been charged with attempted murder‚ assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and pointing of a firearm. The state opposed bail.

The incident‚ parts of which were filmed‚ occurred at a KFC drive-through outlet in Pretoria on August 3. It showed an altercation between the couple‚ Dudu and Jacob Sono‚ and the accused.

A video of the incident was spread widely on social media‚ leading to some who viewed it - including Police Minister Fikile Mbalula - to describe it as a racial attack.

Nel‚ Van Rooyen and Schultz had argued that there had not been a public outcry when Muller was released on bail and did not believe their release would result in a public outcry.

They also argued that the incident was not a racist attack.

Rapulana disagreed with this argument when she passed judgment on Wednesday.

She said the three conceded in their arguments that the incident induced a sense of shock and public outrage.

Rapulana said one of the accused applying for bail had even gone so far as to record the incident on video.

She also dealt with the accused argument that the state did not have a strong case against them.

She said the prosecution mentioned that because of a severe sentence which could be imposed on the accused should they be found guilty of attempted murder‚ they might wish to abscond trial.

In refusing bail‚ Rapulana said there was a likelihood that‚ if released‚ they might interfere with and intimidate witnesses‚ that there would be a public outcry and that the public would not have confidence in the criminal justice system.