http://anisa.org.za/news/20100728/kennedy_5_granted_bail

There was joy and jubilation at the Durban Magistrates’ court on 12 July as the Kennedy 5 who had been in custody since their arrest in September 2009 were finally granted bail.

After a two-hour closed door meeting between the state and the defence team, it was agreed that the five be granted R1 000 bail each.

The five appeared visibly relieved after more than ten months of incarceration.

Samkelisa Mkhokhelwa could not hide his joy on his walk to freedom as he said, “There is every reason to be jubilant as this is our moment of victory. However, the battle is not yet over. We are waiting for the end of the trial for our names to be cleared. We have always maintained that we are innocent of all these charges.”

S’bu Zikode, President of Abahlali baseMjondolo, said their eyes are now fixed on the dropping of all the charges against the twelve. “Although this is a partial victory for us”, he said, “we want to see all the charges against these innocent people dropped, as we have always maintained that this case is politically motivated.”

Earlier on, the accused had not been brought to court because of logistical problems on the part of prison officials.

Only three out of twenty state witnesses appeared in court prompting the magistrate, Sharon Marks, to say that she would issue a warrant of arrest should the witnesses fail to come to court when the trial begins on 29 November.

Meanwhile, most of the bail conditions of all the twelve accused were removed except that they should not visit Kennedy Road or interfere with state witnesses before the end of the trial.