Bail

Bail may be viewed as a form of a ‘contract’ between an accused and the State in the form of the Police or Prosecutors in a court, whereby the accused (who has been arrested and placed in custody) upon payment of a sum of money, is set at liberty with the express undertaking to comply with the general conditions set by the State which usually requires the accused to attend all and every court hearing as and when scheduled.

Other conditions may also be determined by the State, but these will be decided upon as and when necessary. The State on the other hand then agrees to respect the accused’s liberty and will not interfere with the accused while released on bail, unless the State can place convincing facts before the court that the bail should be cancelled.

There are usually three ways that bail may be granted,

• (a) At the police station following an arrest, and granted by the police following an assessment of the matter and the conclusion that the offence is relatively minor. Commonly known as “police bail”. This form of bail remains under judicial control and only applies prior to the first appearance of the accused in court.
• (b) At the police station, but only able to be granted by a State Prosecutor and only granted “after hours”; that being after 16:00 and before 21:00 or over weekends during daylight hours up to 21:00. These involve offences that are more serious and that the police officers are not permitted to grant bail for.
• (c) Court bail. Should bail not be granted as in (a) and (b) above, then the only way bail may be granted and a person released from custody is for that person to appear in a court of law, either at the first opportunity after the arrest, or for more serious offences, at a date and time set by the court after first appearance where a formal bail affidavit will need to be presented to the court seeking the accused’s release on bail for the reasons presented in the affidavit.

All of the above are relatively complex procedures requiring sound knowledge and experience in the processes involved and the Law applicable. It assists the accused greatly to be able to prove citizenship and provide proof of residence during this process and therefore, an ID book or passport, as well as a rental agreement or rates bill is very helpful.