Three accused policemen in Nathaniel Julies case to appear in court together next week

A third suspect in the killing of Nathaniel Julies appeared in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact and the possession of unlawful ammunition, according to National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.

The ammunition used in the killing was prohibited and was no longer allowed to be used in terms of the law, said Mjonondwane.

“We are saying that murder as an accessory after the fact in that the state alleges that after the third accused was alerted to the crime, we as the state alleges that he then tried to assist in the concealment of the offence,” Mjonondwana said.

Eldorado Park Detective Voster Netshiongolo,  37, remains in custody with the two other suspects.

Magistrate David Muhango postponed proceedings to 10 September for further investigations and a bail application. Muhango acknowledged the seriousness of the offences and said a postponement was in the interests of justice.

In court, the accused disputed the charges that were put to him and said they were not the same as when he was charged at the police station. The accused was represented by his legal representative, Abre Loubser.

Mjonondwana said: “We were informed as the NPA that at the police station, the third accused was charged with defeating the ends of justice and possession of unlawful ammunition … It’s the prerogative of the prosecution to decide on which charges should be preferred against an accused person, much as it is within our rights to amend the charge sheet if an accused person has not yet pleaded.”

All three accused will appear simultaneously in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on 10 September.

The family has organised a night vigil on Thursday, and invited all community members to pay their respects.

Outside court, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) alerted journalists that the party’s general-secretary, Marshall Dlamini, would visit the family. However, the visit did not materialise because the Julies family was not home.

On Wednesday, Daily Maverick reported that Nathaniel “Lockie” Julies did something he had done many times before. After eating dinner, he walked out of his family’s Eldorado Park home and stood at the gate with a packet of biscuits.

When his father saw him hours later, he was dead, lying on a hospital gurney at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, with gunshot wounds to his chest that were allegedly inflicted by a policeman who could not understand what the teenager, who has Down Syndrome, was trying to say.

Initial reports from officials indicate that the teen died after he was caught in the crossfire between robbers and police; however, community members and the deceased's family claim he was shot by police after they became frustrated with the teen’s responses to their interrogations.

Mjonondwane said the state would oppose bail for all three accused. “As the prosecution said, they face crimes which fall under the ambit of schedule 6 serious offences.” DM