Foul play not suspected in lawyer's death

Mpumalanga attorney Charles Mnisi was buried in Nelspruit yesterday after a "freak accident" at a casino.

Mnisi, 40, died two days after tripping and falling on stairs to the underground parking of the Emnotweni Casino just before midnight last Friday.

Mnisi, a member of the Black Lawyers' Association (BLA) and former president of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces, was admitted to Nelspruit Medi-Clinic with head injuries.

Police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said foul play was not suspected.

According to a postmortem report, the divorced father of five suffered "severe head trauma" from the more than 2.5m drop.

The casino's general manager, Ig Olivier, said staff were saddened by the death.

"We have given our full co-operation to the police and provided them with the video evidence," said Olivier.

In a province haunted by politically motivated murders, Mnisi's death triggered speculation that something more sinister might have been behind the incident.

But after viewing the CCTV footage, BLA president Andiswa Ndoni said: "We now have peace of mind that it was just an accident."

• ast Wednesday, Mpumalanga was rocked by the murder of Ehlanzeni district municipality chief whip Johan Ndlovu.

He was shot at least four times in what has been described as a political hit. Police have arrested three suspects, Bongani Mkasi, 27, Life Khoza, 22, and Mundi Khoza, 23.

They made a brief appearance in the Mhala Magistrate's Court and were not asked to plead. They will appear in court again on January 19.

On Christmas Eve last year, Ehlanzeni Disaster Management's Portia Mlangeni was shot at her home and is in intensive care.

The Sunday Times has learnt that police are investigating a possible link between that attack and the murder of Ndlovu.

Last year, controversial politician James Nkambule was a victim of the province's growing murder list when the Sunday Times revealed that a preliminary postmortem had revealed he was poisoned.