Dr Mkhuseli Boto bail ruling gets under way

Judgment in the bail application of attempted murder accused Dr Mkhuseli Boto got under way in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

But after reading the judgment for two hours, most of which was a recap of the evidence already led, magistrate Ramona van Vuuren postponed the matter to Wednesday for the continuation of her verdict.

Boto, 50, is accused of shooting his estranged wife, Tabita, in the face at their Summerstrand family home on August 31.

Their three young children were present at the time of the horror shooting.

It is alleged that Boto then attempted to commit suicide.

He has been held at the St Albans Prison hospital section ever since, while Tabita, also a doctor in the city, narrowly survived the shooting and had to have several operations as a result of the bullet that had lodged in her jaw.

Sifting through the evidence before her on Tuesday, Van Vuuren said the state had vehemently opposed bail for fear that Boto would go after Tabita should he be released to try to “finish off what he started”.

The defence had meanwhile submitted that Boto required treatment for his depression and diabetes, which he could not receive adequately in prison.

The judgment continues on Wednesday.