The High Court has granted bail to five Filipino nationals facing 45 criminal charges, ruling that the Crown failed to prove they were likely to abscond or interfere with witnesses if released pending trial.
Justice Zonke Magagula delivered the judgment yesterday, admitting the five accused to bail despite being charged with offences under the Immigration Act, the Gaming Control Act and the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention) Act. The applicants are Almonte Nikko, Lucion King Rony, Bascal John Rick, Christian Jay Del Rosaria and Dollete Anthony, all citizens of the Republic of the Philippines.
They were arrested on March 20 during a joint law enforcement operation involving the Royal Eswatini Police Service, immigration officials and other security agencies.
They were among a large group of foreign nationals from the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and China who were arrested and charged with a combined 45 offences.
The applicants told the court they had responded to an online recruitment advertisement by a company known as X-Win while they were still in the Philippines. They said the company recruited them for customer service trainer positions in South Africa and undertook to arrange all the necessary travel documents, visas and work permits.
The applicants travelled to South Africa in February before being transported to Eswatini, where accommodation had been arranged for them at Woodlands Estate.
They were arrested before they could begin the jobs they had been recruited to perform. In their bail application, the five maintained that they were innocent and intended to plead not guilty to all the charges.
They argued that they had entered Eswatini through lawful ports of entry and believed they were in the country legally because all travel documents had been arranged by their employer.
They also denied the money laundering allegations, saying they had not been found in possession of the E902 638 alleged by the Crown. Instead, each applicant said he had less than E5 000 at the time of arrest.
The applicants further assured the court that they would comply with any bail conditions imposed.
They argued that they posed no risk of interfering with witnesses because they did not know who the Crown witnesses were.
Their application was supported by an affidavit from Juagpao Benmie, a Filipino-born businessman who has acquired Eswatini citizenship. Benmie undertook to accommodate the applicants should bail be granted and to ensure they attended court whenever required. The Crown, however, opposed the application through an affidavit filed by investigating officer detective Akhona Dludlu. Dludlu alleged that investigations had revealed the applicants entered and remained in the kingdom using fraudulent or illegally obtained visas.
He further claimed they were involved in illegal gambling, extortion and other offences, and that they had been found with substantial amounts of money in different currencies.
The investigating officer also argued that because the applicants were foreign nationals with no established roots in the country, they presented a high flight risk. He further submitted that releasing them would allow them to continue contravening immigration laws. Justice Magagula accepted that the Crown’s concerns were understandable but found they were not supported by sufficient evidence. The judge observed that all passports, travel documents and money had already been confiscated by investigators, making it difficult for the applicants to leave the country without assistance. He further noted that the applicants appeared to be minor cogs in a larger and complicated machine, suggesting they were not the masterminds behind the alleged criminal activities.
The court also found no evidence that the applicants knew the identities of witnesses or had the capacity to interfere with investigations. “There has been no suggestion that the applicants would influence or intimidate witnesses,” Justice Magagula said. The judge further noted that police had already seized electronic devices during the investigation, making it unlikely that evidence could be tampered with.
Addressing the Crown’s argument that releasing the applicants would amount to allowing them to continue committing immigration offences, Justice Magagula rejected the submission. He ruled that they would actually not be committing an offence but complying with an order of the court if released on bail and adhering to the conditions imposed.
Justice Magagula further stressed that the Constitution protects every person’s right to liberty, while the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act requires courts to balance that right against the interests of justice. He reiterated that the principal considerations in bail applications are whether an accused is likely to stand trial and whether there is a reasonable likelihood of interference with witnesses or evidence.
Having found no compelling evidence to justify continued detention, the court admitted each applicant to bail of E50 000. Each applicant must pay E5 000 in cash, while the remaining E45 000 will be secured by Benmie’s surety.
The applicants were ordered to reside at House No. 1, Emtelembeni Road, Tubungu. They may not leave the residence without a court order and must report to Matsapha Police Station every Monday and Friday between 8am and 4pm. They were also ordered to attend court whenever required, failing which their bail will be revoked.
