Shebe Maburna faces numerous criminal charges in Polokwane court

Limpopo musician Lehlogonolo “Shebe Maburna” Chauke is appearing in the Polokwane Regional Court facing a string of serious charges.

The charges include three counts of attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, theft, and possession of an unlicensed firearm, among others.

Chauke is now facing a total of twenty charges, after the court added eleven new counts to the nine he was initially charged with.

His lawyer, Michael Khumalo, says the defence remains confident that the submissions made before the court will yield a positive outcome, while noting that alternative legal options remain available should proceedings not go in their favour.

He says, “Our client has expressed confidence in us, and he has said to us, Please continue to fight for me, and that’s what we intend to do. And look, this is not a small case, and I’m not saying it’s big because of him. It’s big because of the issues we are raising. These are very important issues. And where we are at the high court, we believe strongly that if the wrong decision is made at the high court, it’s going to cause chaos at the magistrate’s court”.

He adds, “I’ll give you an example. The inclusion of matters which have been withdrawn raises serious concerns for the future. There is what we call precedence. If the wrong precedent is set at the high court, what is going to happen is this, that you’ll have a bail application at the magistrate’s court. The investigative officer comes and opposes it. If it doesn’t go well for him, you are opposing, they can have the matter withdrawn and bring the accused through an arrest and oppose again before a different magistrate. So if we don’t approach this very carefully, it’s going to open a can of worms. It’s going to cause chaos in the criminal justice system, so it’s for all the role players to see it and put a stop to it. Otherwise, problems in the future.”

Video | Shebe Maburna | Lehlogonolo Chauke’s pre-trial hearing