A pagad member who spent the last 23 years in jail for a double murder is now a free man and has maintained his innocence.
In 2004, Mogamat Phadiel Orrie, 52, was sentenced to life in the mang for the murder of a couple who was in witness protection at the time.
Orrie was incarcerated in at Worcester Prison and was released on parole from the Mitchell's Plain Correctional Parole Office on Tuesday afternoon.
His parole was endorsed by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, following recommendation by the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS).
The victims’ family had formed part of the parole process and have since been informed of his release.
Phadiel was convicted for the murders of Yusuf and Fahiema Enous, whose bullet-riddled bodies were found at a safe house in Gouda on 26 December 2000.
Their four-month-old baby, whose skull was fractured, was also discovered in the house.
The couple were supposed to testify against Haroon Orrie, Phadiel’s brother, who had been arrested with several other people in connection with an attempt to bomb the Keg and Swan pub in Durbanville.
Yusuf and Fahiema were initially arrested for involvement in the bombing, but the charges were dropped when they agreed to turn State witnesses.
It was revealed during the trial, which began in 2003 and lasted for 44 days, that DNA evidence connected Phadiel to the crime scene after his blood was found on a curtain in the house.
His blood was also found in the bakkie of Samier Orrie, his brother and co-accused. In his defence, Phadiel claimed that he had injured himself earlier in the day while using the vehicle.
He said the blood must have been transferred to his friend, Adiel Ameerodien, who in turn, innocently transferred it onto the curtain when he went to Gouda to visit the Enous couple later that day.
Ameerodien testified that he had found blood on his hand but could not find a wound. He told the court that he had closed a window at the safe house.
However, Judge Lee Bozalek said Phadiel’s version about the blood could not be corroborated, and also rejected his alibi that he had hosted a braai on the night of the murders.
Phadiel was subsequently found guilty of the murders, housebreaking, defeating the ends of justice and the unlawful possession of firearms.
Samier was acquitted on all charges.
On Tuesday, family and friends welcomed Phadiel with warm embraces and handshakes as he made his first steps toward freedom.
Among those present was Pagad leader Abdus-Salaam Ebrahim.
Phadiel will be subjected to supervision by Department of Correctional Services’ Community Corrections office in line with parole conditions.
Pagad’s national coordinator, Haroon Orrie, spoke on behalf of the family and said they were grateful to witness Phadiel’s release in today's democracy.
He said: “After 23 years of incarceration, we as the family of Phadiel Orrie want to thank the Creator and the community at large for their continued support for him and his family.:
He asked people to accept his brother back into society and recognise the “sacrifice he has made in serving this society so our children can live in a better society.”
Haroon insisted on their brother’s innocence and that he had unjustly served half a lifetime in jail for a crime he did not commit.
He said: “We maintain that the court [may have] found him guilty based on evidence, but we feel it was an unjust process and that he was unjustly incarcerated for 23 years.”