’Court failed to call for statement from former girlfriend over GBV claims’

IN HIS latest bid to be released on bail, Durban security boss Ferrel Govender said despite allegations of gender-based violence (GBV) against him, the court had failed to call for a statement from his former girlfriend.

- NADIA KHAN

On Monday, Govender's legal represent-ative filed a notice of application for leave to appeal against the judgment handed down by Judge ME Nkosi in the Durban High Court last Thursday.

The matter is expected to be heard today (Wednesday).

Judge Nkosi dismissed Govender’s appeal against the ruling made by a mag-istrate to deny him bail.

Govender's former girlfriend and the woman allegedly at the centre of the love triangle with him and slain businessman Shailen Singh has been named as Salona Ramrutton Kisten.

In January this year, Govender, 41, the group CEO of Pro Secure, and his brother, Darren, 35, were charged with Singh’s mur-der.

Darren was granted R200 000 bail in the Durban Magistrate’s Court last month. However, Govender was denied bail and took the decision on appeal to the high court.

In the latest appeal notice, it was sub-mitted that the judge on appeal had erred in one or more respects.

It read that the appeal court should have found that the magistrate failed in his duty to apply provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act in regards to the records of the identity parade and to call for the statement of Govender's former girlfriend.

“Regarding the failure to call for the statement by the former girlfriend, the appeal court ventures into the realm of speculation, when it speculates that it is ‘not uncommon for GBV to recant or destroy proof of the abuse when they are persuaded or pressured by their abusers to do so.

“Most victims of GBV end up regretting that decision when the abuse continues or gets worse often with disastrous conse-quences’.

“There is nothing in the evidence in the appeal record that justifies the appeal court in venturing into the realms of spec-ulation.”

In addition, the notice read that the appeal court failed when it found that the magistrate “erred on the side of caution”.