KNYSNA NEWS - A 31-year-old Tanzanian citizen, a suspect in a Queen Street incident where a couple was shot in their house on Friday, February 13, was rearrested.
The man had been arrested hours after the shooting. At the time the police said that they had found evidence in his possession that linked him to the crime scene. The Knysna Police station commander, Colonel Atwell Metu, congratulated the Knysna Police for their effective and swift action and investigation that led to the arrest.
However, on Monday, February 16, the state prosecutor decided that there was not sufficient evidence to connect him to the crime scene and she ordered that he must be released. This was even after The Knysna-Plett Herald contacted the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) to question the suspect's release after the police had claimed they were sure that they arrested the correct suspect. Consequently, NPA asked for the docket to investigate the reasons for the release and the circumstances surrounding the arrest.
On Tuesday, March 10, the Knysna-Plett Herald heard from a reliable source that senior NPA personnel had a look at the relevant docket and instructed specific investigations to be conducted.
On Wednesday, March 11, spokesperson for the Southern Cape Police Captain Bernadine Steyn confirmed the rearrest of a Tanzanian man on Tuesday, March 10 after he was linked to the incident. He was expected to appear in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, March 11 on charges of house robbery.
"The search for the other suspect continues."
Anyone who has any information regarding this incident is requested to call the Knysna Police at 044 302 6652 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
*The investigation into the break-in and shooting of a Knysna couple in their Queen Street home on Friday, February 13 and the reasons for releasing the only suspect in the incident, was put under the magnifying glass by the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA).
The Knysna-Plett Herald heard from a reliable source that senior NPA personnel had a look at the relevant docket and instructed specific investigations to be done. This follows the decision on Monday, February 16, by a state prosecutor from the same authority that a Tanzanian suspect had to be released due to inadequate evidence to charge him with the shooting.
He was arrested by the SAPS on the day of the shooting, whereafter a media statement indicated, "Police searched and found evidence in his possession that links him to the crime scene."
It is not known exactly what the NPA's instructions to the police entail.
In the meantime, Knysna Police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies, gave his assurance that rumours doing the rounds that the couple had been shot with their own firearms are false.
Anyone who has any information regarding this incident is requested to call the Knysna SAPS at 044 302 6652 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
ARTICLE: CHRISTO VERMAAK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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