The alleged mastermind behind the hit on former ANCYL secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa was denied bail in the Umzimkhulu magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Former municipal manager Zweliphansi Skhosana, 55, faces a string of charges including conspiracy to commit murder, murder, unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and defeating the ends of justice.
“The magistrate said Skhosana failed to prove exceptional circumstances that warrant his release on bail. Further, the court said that Skhosana did not show that his release on bail was in the interest of justice,” said KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.
The matter was postponed to October 6 for trial in the Pietermaritzburg high court where Skhosana is expected to appear alongside his co-accused, businessman Mbulelo Mpofana and ex-police officer Sibonelo Myeza.
Another ex-cop implicated in the murder, Mlungisi Ncalane, was declared unfit to stand trial due to mental illness and transferred to a psychiatric facility in Pietermaritzburg.
Magaqa was gunned down in 2017. It is alleged that the vehicle and firearm used in his murder belonged to the SAPS crime intelligence unit.
Skhosana was rearrested in July in Malvern in Durban after charges against him were provisionally withdrawn in 2018.
He was first arrested in 2018 alongside the late Harry Gwala mayor Mluleki Ndobe, Mpofana, Myeza and Mlungisi Ncalane.
His rearrest came after hitman Sibusiso Ncengwa pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg high court to Magaqa’s murder, the attempted murder of three others, and a string of other crimes.
In his confession, Ncengwa named his accomplices and identified those who allegedly orchestrated the hit which led to Skhosana’s rearrest.
Ncengwa was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment for the Magaqa murder.
TimesLIVE
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