Shebeshxt’s lawyer accuses Polokwane court of unfair hearing during bail application
Shebeshxt has been in custody since his arrest in November last year.
Lehlohonolo "Shebeshxt" Chauke’s lawyer claimed Polokwane Magistrate’s Court unfairly treated his client during a bail hearing on Wednesday. Advocate Mutheiwana Sikhwari argued the court was cross-examining Chauke unfairly, stating they were treating him unfairly and giving him an unfair hearing. The magistrate court had previously dismissed Chauke’s bail applications multiple times, as he faces 21 charges including 4 counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and culpable homicide.
The hearing was set to run from Monday to Thursday, but was interrupted on Tuesday to bring in a ballistics expert. Sikhwari objected to the court reading paragraph 20 of Chauke’s affidavit, claiming the court's half reading of the paragraph would confuse his client. However, the presiding magistrate, Godfrey Netshiozwi, overruled the objection, stating that merely referencing a paragraph does not imply the whole paragraph should be read.
The dispute began when the state prosecutor, Kgaugelo Lekoloane, read only one line of paragraph 20, stating that Chauke had not applied for bail after additional charges were added on 15 May 2026. Chauke claimed the state was timing the added charges to coincide with his visit to the regional court, but the magistrate dismissed his claim of bias.
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