Hapless hostel ‘hitman’ outs himself

A bail bid in the Durban Regional Court by a band of alleged Glebelands triggermen went ahead on Monday.

The matter has been set down for four days.

Detective Sergeant Bhekukwazi Louis Mdweshu‚ 27‚ Ncomecile Matlala Ntshangase‚ 34‚ Khayelihle Mbuthuma‚ 32‚ Eugene Wonderboy Hlope‚ 45‚ Mbuyiselwa Mahliphiza Mkhize‚ 28‚ Vukani Mcobothi‚ 25‚ and Mondli Talente Mthethwa‚ 28‚ have been in custody since December last year.

The seven were arrested in a series of raids‚ part of a police crackdown on the violence-ridden housing complex.

Their bail application comes a day after police arrested a man they allege can be linked to several murders and attempted murders at the hostel.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said that the attention of investigators was piqued by the suspect‚ who had been posing as an informant.

“The police based at Umlazi Glebelands hostel were conducting their patrols at hostel when they received information about a group of people who were in possession of firearms. The members swiftly reacted and searched those people but nothing was found on them.

“Later they became suspicious about the person who gave them information and he was approached and searched. He was found in possession of a .38 special revolver with its serial number erased. There were five live rounds from the firearm and a dagger was also recovered from him‚” Zwane added.

During the course of their probe‚ police established that he may have had a role to play in several murders and attempted murder cases reported at Glebelands hostel.

“The police raided his room at the hostel previously while searching for guns but nothing was found.”

He was expected to appear in the Umlazi Magistrate’s court on Monday.

Scores of people have been killed in the hostel‚ which was described as a haven for assassins and criminals.

The Moerane Commission of Inquiry‚ established to probe political killings in the province‚ heard testimony that the death of former ANC Youth League general secretary Sindiso Magaqa was orchestrated from the hostel. Magaqa was killed in a drive-by shooting in Umzimkhulu in July and died in hospital.

The hostel‚ administered by the Ethekwini Municipality‚ is considered to be a hotbed of violence and crime. Comprising squalid and poorly maintained blocks‚ the hostel is overcrowded and rundown.