Cape Town lawyer accused of race-based attack must answer to charges, says magistrate

By Sandiso Phaliso

5 Aug 2024

Gary Trappler fails in bid to have malicious damage to property case struck off the roll.

Cape Town magistrate Venge Qula has refused a bid by lawyer Gary Trappler to have charges against him dropped. Trappler is accused of slashing the car tyres of his neighbour, Thandi Mgwaba, on 19 February 2020.

Mgwaba has said she believed Trappler slashed her car’s tyres because she was black, and was defenceless. Trappler has pleaded not guilty.

At the end of the State’s case last month, through his lawyer Anel du Toit, Trappler filed an application in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act to have the charges of malicious damage to property against him struck off the court’s roll. This section applies if the State has failed to provide sufficient evidence that the accused committed the crime.

‘No evidence’

Du Toit argued that there was no evidence linking Trappler to the crime.

But prosecutor Sino Mkonto argued that the application should be dismissed because the State had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Trappler had a case to answer.

Handing down his judgment in court on Monday, Qula said he dismissed the application because “there is reasonable evidence that a court may convict the accused”.

“The question to be asked at this stage is whether there is enough evidence for the person accused to be discharged. A second question to be asked is: Would the State’s case be supplemented by the accused person’s testimony?” said Qula.

Credibility

He said the defence had raised questions about the credibility of a witness. “Credibility, indeed, plays a role, but is limited,” said Qula.

He said the defence had suggested that Peter Flentov, a former Green Point Neighbourhood Watch chairperson who had testified for the State, had a vendetta against Trappler. Flentov had testified on video footage about the incident. Qula said he did not rule out that Flentov might have been biased as it was common cause that he and Trappler did not see eye to eye. But, he said, Trappler did not dispute his identity on the video.

“Therefore, there is reasonable evidence that a court may convict the accused,” said Qula.

Du Toit, after the judgment, said she would call three witnesses and a video footage analyst to testify for Trappler. The case has been postponed until 18 September 2024.

Speaking to GroundUp outside the court, Mgwaba said she was happy Trappler’s application had been dismissed.

“He must come to court and defend himself.” DM

First published by GroundUp.

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‘No evidence’

Credibility