News24
CAPE TOWN – Western Cape police have won a court order to retrieve the only hard evidence they have in a double murder case – a bullet in their prime suspect’s leg. Sizwe Gaqa had indicated that he was not going to let the police have the bullet. However, on Tuesday morning Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai gave the police permission to use reasonable force, including surgery by a qualified doctor, to remove the bullet. He gave Gaqa, who is being held in custody, 24 hours to change his mind, failing which the Sheriff of the court could give the go-ahead for extraction. The drama in the unusual case started on New Year’s Eve when Mabona Boesman and his bodyguard, Boxer Bangani, were shot dead during a botched robbery in Bellville. Investigating Officer Ivan van den Heever discovered that before he died, Boesman had shot one of his attackers during the robbery. On January 2, Van den Heever received information that Gaqa had been involved in a robbery attempt and had been shot in both thighs. Gaqa first told them he was attacked with a screwdriver, then that he had been shot by an acquaintance on New Year’s Day at Strandfontein. He said the gunman had apologised and he did not intend to pursue the matter any further. In papers before the court Gaqa said that he was not willing to subject himself to a medical procedure that might endanger his life and cause pain. The police lawyer in the application argued that detectives had no other witness who could identify the killer of the two men, and that made the bullet crucial evidence.