• Five accused were charged with kidnapping following the disappearance of a newborn from Rob Ferreira Hospital on August 30 last year. They will be back in court on May 7. Messrs Ananias Ndzimba (27), Julius Sithole (25), Phineas Sono (35), Aaron Moyo Nyoni (20) and Ms Portia Ncube (31) appeared in court briefly on Tuesday and the case against them was postponed for further investigation. Sono, Nyoni and Ncube’s bail was extended while Ndzimba and Sithole will remain in custody.
• The case against the alleged hijackers of KNP aircraft engineer Mr Teboho Ntabe was postponed to May 14 on Wednesday. The seven accused in the case are Messrs Thamsanqa Lungelo Shongwe (23), Bheki Maxwell Mkaya (24), Sakhile Vuyo Moshaga (21), Thabiso Malele (20), Mxolisi Irvin Khoza (25), Esseu Thabiso Mndlovu (21) and Const Nhlanhla Phillip Mavimbela. Lowvelder previously reported that Ntabe was killed when he broke free from a suspected hijacking next to the N4, ran across the road and was fatally hit by an oncoming vehicle. The case was still under investigation. Shongwe’s bail was extended. Moshaga and Malele’s bail of R1 500 had not yet been paid. They remain in custody with the other accused.
• The men who stand accused of killing Bundu Estate resident Mr Clive Bowers (60) appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Three of the accused, Messrs Osvaldo Manyike (33), Thomas Joseph Mashaba (36) and Louis Mathe (38), had been linked with numerous violent robberies believed to have been committed by the so-called “panga-gang.” A fourth suspect, Mr Pedro Alexandra Shabane, appeared with them on Wednesday. The case was postponed to May 6 for further investigation. All four accused remain in custody.
• Local car salesman Mr Christo Coetzee’s theft trial was postponed to May 14 on Wednesday. The accused was charged after an Audi that was stored on his property, was removed from its storage place. According to Coetzee, the theft charges were the result of a great misunderstanding. The state indicated that they needed more time to finalise witness statements and the postponement request was granted. Coetzee’s bail of R1 500 was extended.
