‘TATA’ FREE TO GO ANYWHERE, DO ANYTHING - DPP

MBABANE - “There is nothing wrong with Siphiwe ‘Tata’ Ngubane going to a place of his choice and doing what he wants as he is not under arrest.”

These sentiments were shared by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Phila Dlamini, who also clarified that the reason police officers were always with him (Ngubane)  was to ensure his safety, not that he was under arrest as perceived by many. The DPP said Ngubane was introduced to the court as an accomplice witness, not that he was under arrest. When he arrived in the country in December last year, Ngubane was taken to a place of safety and to ensure his protection whenever he comes to the High Court, he is closely guarded by a contingent of armed police officers from the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU). Ngubane, who is a South African national, is an accomplice witness in the murder trial of Sipho Shongwe, who is accused of having a hand in the death of astute businessman and football administrator Victor Gamedze.  

Accomplice

An accomplice witness means a witness to a crime who, either as a principal, accomplice, or accessory, was connected with the crime by unlawful act or omission on his or her part. Pictures of Ngubane and two plain-clothes police officers purportedly having fun were on Saturday posted on social media, wherein they were on top of a rock at an undisclosed location. In the pictures, Ngubane is seen wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. He is holding a tumbler in his right hand and hat with the other. The two police officers who were also in casual wear are seen taking turns to take pictures with Ngubane, which then cemented the public perception that it was a ‘boys’ day out as they appeared to be enjoying themselves at the undisclosed location.

Following the circulation of the pictures, some people formed an opinion that the accomplice witness was being afforded preferential treatment by the police and the Crown.  This assumption by some members of public that Ngubane was given special treatment has been dismissed by the DPP, who said he (Ngubane) was free to go wherever he wanted during his spare time as he had not been charged with any offence. Some members of the public felt that posting the pictures of the accomplice witness on social media placed his life in danger as some people might easily identify the place he was at with the police officers by just merely looking at the surroundings. “He can go anywhere the national commissioner of police deems his security is not under threat. The man is not in custody,” said the DPP. The DPP continued to state that there were many accomplice witnesses in the country’s court and most of them continued to live their own lives.He also clarified that Ngubane, being a Section 234 witness, did not mean that he should be confined as the court only declared his indemnity at the end of the case.

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