Joburg building hijacking kingpin back in court

The man described by the City of Johannesburg as the kingpin of building hijackings will be back in court on Wednesday.

Jonathan Constable will appear alongside Bongani Khathide and Kingsley Eke‚ a Nigerian national. The trio will be applying for bail in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court after they were arrested last month.

Constable has been identified by the City of Johannesburg as the kingpin behind a number of hijacked buildings. He and his alleged accomplices are accused of duping tenants in properties around Johannesburg by convincing them that the true property owners were hijackers and not to cooperate with them‚ according to officials.

The three men were arrested last month‚ which the City of Johannesburg described as a huge breakthrough in its fight against building hijackings.

The court should be able to hear on Wednesday what charges the three men are facing. A bail hearing was supposed to take place in their last appearance on January 4. But the National Prosecuting Authority asked for a postponement in order to determine the charges. The prosecution team also had to determine the schedule of their offence before the bail hearing takes place.

Prosecutor Kobus Ehlers told the court he needed time to speak to the senior prosecutor who was involved in the warrant of arrest for the men.

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba attended court proceedings last week‚ accompanied by speaker of council Vasco da Gama‚ metro police chief David Tembe and other senior officials.