Legal heavyweight Barry Roux tackles investigating officer in church murder case

Advocate Barry Roux has accused the investigating officer in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) murder case of being biased towards the church.

He made the claim during arguments in the bail application of 42 people accused of involvement in the death of five church members last month.

Sgt George Maditse was giving testimony in the Westonaria magistrate's court on Tuesday. The bail applications will continue on Wednesday.

Roux, who is representing 21 of the 42 suspects, said the officer was not being objective because he did not consider the possibility that the people who shot at the five deceased could have been from inside the Zuurbekom church.

“You are biased and deny some of the questions,” said Roux.

Maditse denied the claim.

On July 11, five people were killed when a group of men attacked the church headquarters, allegedly as part of a fight for leadership by warring factions. Four men were shot and burnt to death in a car while a fifth man, a security guard, is believed to have been killed when he attempted to respond to the attack.

Maditse was arguing that the suspects were on a mission to take over the church at the barrel of the gun, and since they did not fulfill their mission, being out on bail would put the church and the community at risk.

“It is a mystery how the five were killed. They were inside the church before being killed and I don't know who killed them.

“My belief is that it was chaotic because there were many people involved who came in many cars. My version is they could have been shot as they were running from the church, maybe by their own people,” he said.

Roux argued the police were not impartial in dealing with the case  as they did not have a clear picture about who shot who at the scene.

Maditse disputed this, saying he had taken statements from people inside the church, and they said none of the shots were fired from inside.

Roux was adamant that “maybe they [the five deceased] could have been shot by people from inside the church".

Maditse said the accused must be remanded in custody until trial. 

“The accused were not supposed to be at the church. What was their business going to the IPHC?," he said.

“Those who were at the church are still traumatised. They don't even trust we are cops when we go to the church. I couldn't interview the accused because their lawyers said they must not speak to us,” Maditse told the court.

He said police found three pistols which were not listed in the SA registration database. They also seized a number of vehicles at the scene, one of which was reported hijacked by its owner.

“This is organised crime. Due to the charges they are facing, they won't stand trial [if granted bail]. One is a Lesotho national from Ladysmith. He has no identification and can run away without being traced. I asked his parents, who are also from Lesotho, and they said he doesn't have identification.

“[Accused] number 41 resides in a hostel and can move around. He has another address in Ladysmith. We will have difficulties finding him. We can't guarantee he will come to court. Some of the accused have previous convictions,” Maditse said.

Defence lawyer Eric Bryer, who represents two suspects, accused number 34 and 35, questioned the the investigating officer's knowledge regarding the history of the church.

He asked Maditse if he was aware the church had 38 branches across the country, how many members the church has, and whether he was aware there were three factions.

Maditse admitted he did not know, but said he was aware of a dispute regarding the leadership of the church.

“I don't investigate a civil matter. There was an attack in Cape Town and one person died during the attack. A farm in Radium was taken over by guns from IPHC. In Lephalale congregants were injured. In Pretoria buses were attacked and driven away, and one witness who was a bus driver was dropped off in North West,” Maditse said.

The matter continues on Wednesday.

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