When police K9 unit members tracked down alleged kidnapper Mnyamezeli Tete while he was driving near Fort Beaufort, he knew they wanted to arrest him.
Trying to evade arrest, he jumped out of his car and ran into bushes on the side of the road.
But the 59-year-old only made it about 20m into the bush before he was caught and brought back to Gqeberha.
State prosecutor Benedict Wilson said this while reading excerpts from the arresting officer’s statement while cross-examining Tete during his formal bail application in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Friday.
However, Tete denied the allegations, and repeatedly said the arresting officer was lying.
Tete is accused of kidnapping and extortion after a 31-year-old foreign national was abducted from his business premises in North End in April.
The victim was found in the middle of the night in Kariega, six days after his abduction.
Tete’s co-accused and nephew, Mzoxolo Grwayibana, 38, was arrested in May and subsequently released on R3,000 bail.
While in custody, Tete was also linked to the alleged kidnapping for ransom of 34-year-old Kariega mother Sonam Gajjar in March.
She was found two days after disappearing from her home, after her family paid R2m for her release.
During Friday’s bail proceedings, Tete’s attorney, Zolile Ngqeza, questioned him about his previous convictions and the circumstances leading to his arrest.
Tete confirmed that he was convicted of car theft in the 1980s before being sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for robbery and murder in 1996.
He was released on parole in 2012.
In accordance with his parole conditions, Tete had to report to parole officials at their offices in Grahamstown Road, Gqeberha, before leaving the metro.
However, on the day of his recent arrest, on June 9, he said he had to urgently go to Fort Beaufort as his wife’s uncle had died.
Tete said he visited the parole office, which was closed, and subsequently phoned parole officials to notify them that was leaving town.
During cross-examination, Wilson put it to Tete that he received a phone call from WO Shane Bosch the day before he left for Fort Beaufort, informing him that Colonel Kanna Swanepoel, of the Hawks, was looking for him in connection with the kidnapping, and he had to hand himself over to the police.
Tete confirmed that Bosch had phoned him, but became evasive when questioned about the timeline of events and gave no clear explanation for not reporting to the police as instructed.
When asked about the circumstances surrounding his arrest, Tete said a police vehicle had approached him near Fort Beaufort, and after stopping his vehicle, he was arrested while sitting inside his car.
Wilson disputed this, saying the arresting officer stated that Tete tried to drive away from the police before jumping out of his car.
Police officers had to fire warning shots as Tete fled on foot before he was eventually apprehended..
The matter was postponed to July 15 when Wilson will continue with his cross-examination.
Tete remains in custody.
HeraldLIVE
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