Lubabalo Vellem is lifted up by a crowd after he leaves court in November 2015. Photo: Thembela Ntongana
30 November 2016
Lubabalo Vellem, who was arrested during the unrest in Masiphumelele late last year when residents were protesting for better policing, has been arrested again for breaking one of his bail conditions and for malicious damage to property.
Vellem was arrested on Friday in Khayelitsha, where he stays with his sister. One of his bail conditions was that he not return to Masiphumelele unless granted permission by the magistrate for his clinic visits.
He had been allowed to return to the area a couple of times for clinic visits as well as for a memorial service.
Vellem was reported to have been in Masiphumelele in disregard of his bail condition. He is also accused of stabbing the tyres of a police van while there.
Yesterday, he appeared at the Simon’s Town Magistrate court. The magistrate questioned why he was only arrested two weeks after the incident. Vellem pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on R500 bail.
At the same time he was supposed to appear in the Wynberg Regional Court to set the date for an attempted murder charge he is facing. But since he was in Simon’s Town, he didn’t attend the Wynberg court hearing. The Wynberg judge consequently postponed the hearing till 14 December and handed down a warrant for Vellem’s arrest.