A former Uber driver‚ accused of robbing‚ kidnapping and raping his passengers‚ says he may have driven the vehicle but knows nothing of the attacks on the alleged victims.
The 25-year-old man‚ who cannot be named until he has pleaded‚ applied for bail at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. He appeared with a second accused man.
Defence attorney Vincent Makamu‚ speaking for his client‚ said the man intended to plead not guilty and denies any involvement in the alleged attacks carried out on the passengers.
“I was the driver of the motor vehicle in which the complainants allegedly travelled in‚” he said‚ reading the man’s sworn statement.
He said the man does not know the complainants‚ however‚ as he transports many people in one night and cannot confirm whether they had in fact ridden with him.
He added that the man had been informed by police that the complainants were attacked where he had dropped them off.
The two men both face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances‚ multiple rapes and kidnapping.
One of the complainants was allegedly robbed of about R5‚000 and raped in a veld after getting into the Uber taxi she had called to collect her from Montecasino in Fourways.
Lawyer Vanessa da Silva Faria‚ one of the legal representatives for the woman and a second complainant‚ said contact had been made with at least two more complainants who have shared similar stories of attacks on Uber rides.
“I think they (the complainants) are conflicted. They don’t want them to get bail...but justice has to prevail.”
She said that she had been informed that four or five more suspects were being investigated‚ though only two have been arrested.
According to Da Silva Faria‚ who attended the case on a watching brief‚ her clients identified the first accused man as their driver on the night of the alleged incidents in an identity parade.
A court order prevents TMG Digital from naming any of the complainants.
The man‚ who was arrested on September 15 for the second time‚ after the police released him following his first arrest in August‚ claims proper procedure was not followed when he was taken into custody.
Makamu said the man‚ who earns R8‚000 per month‚ has R5‚000 available for bail.
The second accused man will apply for bail on Friday when the matter resumes in court.
'I may have been the driver but it wasn't me' says former Uber driver accused of rape
A former Uber driver‚ accused of robbing‚ kidnapping and raping his passengers‚ says he may have driven the vehicle but knows nothing of the attacks on the alleged victims.
The 25-year-old man‚ who cannot be named until he has pleaded‚ applied for bail at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. He appeared with a second accused man.
Defence attorney Vincent Makamu‚ speaking for his client‚ said the man intended to plead not guilty and denies any involvement in the alleged attacks carried out on the passengers.
“I was the driver of the motor vehicle in which the complainants allegedly travelled in‚” he said‚ reading the man’s sworn statement.
He said the man does not know the complainants‚ however‚ as he transports many people in one night and cannot confirm whether they had in fact ridden with him.
He added that the man had been informed by police that the complainants were attacked where he had dropped them off.
The two men both face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances‚ multiple rapes and kidnapping.
One of the complainants was allegedly robbed of about R5‚000 and raped in a veld after getting into the Uber taxi she had called to collect her from Montecasino in Fourways.
Lawyer Vanessa da Silva Faria‚ one of the legal representatives for the woman and a second complainant‚ said contact had been made with at least two more complainants who have shared similar stories of attacks on Uber rides.
“I think they (the complainants) are conflicted. They don’t want them to get bail...but justice has to prevail.”
She said that she had been informed that four or five more suspects were being investigated‚ though only two have been arrested.
According to Da Silva Faria‚ who attended the case on a watching brief‚ her clients identified the first accused man as their driver on the night of the alleged incidents in an identity parade.
A court order prevents TMG Digital from naming any of the complainants.
The man‚ who was arrested on September 15 for the second time‚ after the police released him following his first arrest in August‚ claims proper procedure was not followed when he was taken into custody.
Makamu said the man‚ who earns R8‚000 per month‚ has R5‚000 available for bail.
The second accused man will apply for bail on Friday when the matter resumes in court.
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