Slain train driver: 3 minors in court
Three minors have been charged in connection with the murder of a Metrorail train driver while he was waiting on a platform.
|||Cape Town - Three minors have been charged in connection with the murder of Metrorail train driver Piet Botha while he was waiting on a platform at Netreg station earlier this month.
The minors, whose names are being withheld, made their first appearance in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
They appeared alongside Marlin Johnson, 22, believed to be an accomplice in the murder.
He was formally charged with the murder of the 46-year-old train driver as he made his second appearance before the court.
Botha, a Malmesbury resident, is said to have been training a colleague and, while waiting for the next train on the Netreg platform, was accosted and killed for his belongings.
He was shot twice at close range.
A fifth man, who is Johnson’s neighbour, Cedrick Andrews, 37, was also apprehended by police earlier this month when they allegedly found the murder weapon in his possession.
While the charges against the minors were unclear, they will appear again alongside Johnson and Andrews on August 24, when it is expected that they will make an application to be placed in the care of their respective guardians.
The trio will be remanded in Pollsmoor’s juvenile wing until their next court appearances.
Johnson and Andrews will remain in custody until their bail application on August 24.
Last week, three men were shot near Netreg train station as residents gathered in remembrance of the slain Metrorail driver.
Cape Argus