“They are going to blame her for most things that went wrong and she is not there to defend herself or to contradict [the accused] Will probably run free, “said Curlewis.” The State can also consider approaching her lawyers and trying to witness her a state, and that she voluntarily agrees. But I don’t know if she will be very willing to do that.
“She doesn’t become a cooperative witness, if you ask me. In short, the state has problems. I foresee that this is the start of the end for the state of the state.”
NPA spokesperson Admthunzi Mhanga said that the prosecution of the body would consider appealing.
Mhanga said that the judgment had no influence on the trial against the other accused, because Cholota was an accused and not a witness to the state.
“The NPA continues to trust the power of his case against the suspect in this case and is ready to continue when the trial is resumed [on Wednesday]”He said.
Legal expert Nthabiseng Dubazana said that if the arrest of Cholota were made illegal, this means that if she was known after she was arrested, this would be unconstitutional.
“If I were the state, I would draw for the time being and close a deal with Cholota. But I doubt that that would happen because she now has all the rights to sue the state for illegal arrest, illegal detention and illegal persecution so that they could sue millions,” she said.
Another legal expert, Adv Deon Pool, said that the charges of Cholota remained and the NPA could accommodate her or give it a summons to “go back to court”.
“If I was the NPA, I would rather try to follow the route of the summons. So you get the summons in 14 days … It is a less invasive way to get someone in court.”
Sowetanlive
Nandi Ntini, Jeanette Chabalala
www.sowetanlive.co.za