A man with alleged links to the Colenso taxi massacre, which claimed 12 lives two weeks ago, wants to be released on bail.
The 35-year-old Sydenham man‚ whom magistrate Mahomed Motala ordered could not be named or photographed‚ has been charged for illegal possession of 73 rounds of AK-47 ammunition.
He was arrested on Tuesday last week. In an appearance before the court on Wednesday‚ the man indicated that he wished to apply for bail at the earliest available opportunity. He will get a chance to motivate why he should be released on bail next week.
The state‚ the court heard‚ would strenuously oppose his release while awaiting trial. The man remains the only link to who may have been responsible for the bloody taxi massacre in the KZN hinterland two weeks ago.
Gunmen had opened fire on a minibus taxi while it travelled on the R74 between the towns of Colenso and Weenen on July 21. The taxi‚ ferrying drivers from the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand‚ Gauteng‚ had been peppered by automatic gunfire as it returned from a funeral at Ematimatolo in central KwaZulu-Natal.
Crime scene technicians who examined the vehicle recorded that more than 200 rounds had passed through the minibus.
Eleven people died at the scene and another died later in hospital. Ten of those killed were taxi drivers from the Ivory Park Taxi Association.
The man will appear in court again on Monday August 6.
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