By: Sello Theletsane
The 59-year-old Springbok, Northern Cape man accused of double murder has been granted bail, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced on Thursday.
NPA Regional Spokesperson Northern Cape Division Mojalefa Senokoatsane said Jacobus (Japie) Dawid Claassens appeared in the Springbok District Court, where he officially applied for bail. “The accused is facing two counts of murder. On 31 October 2023, the accused allegedly shot two acquaintances who were at his home, after the incident, the accused went to the police station to report the shooting matter.”
“When the police arrived at his home, they found two victims critical, and they were rushed to Upington, for medical assistance. The accused was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder. During his appearance, the court heard that the two victims had passed on and the charges were changed to two counts of murder.”
Senokoatsane said during his bail application, Claassens was granted bail of R5000 by the Springbok District Court, with certain conditions. “The bail conditions are that he should report to the nearest police station every Saturday, have no contact with witnesses directly or indirectly, remain at his current address, and report his movements to the Investigating Officer if he were to leave his address within 24 hours, hand-in his passport to the Investigating Officer and lastly, he must not be involved in any schedule one offence.”
“The prosecution opposed this bail application. The matter was postponed to 13 December 2023, for further investigations in the Vioolsdrift District Court.”
