Mpumalanga’s ANC heavyweight Mandla Msibi walks free
Throughout this case, Msibi had always maintained that he was innocent and that the charges were cooked up to derail and dent his political career.
The Mpumalanga ANC bigwig, Mandla Msibi, walked out a free man on Monday as his charges were provisionally withdrawn.
Msibi received a hero’s welcome as he walked out of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela on Monday morning. Surrounded by throngs of ANC members and ordinary citizens, the emotional Msibi raised his fist in the air, a signal of freedom and a salute to the people, as he emerged from the high court.
Msibi was arrested and charged alongside five others for the fatal shooting of Sindela Sipho Lubisi and Dingane Ngwenya, as well as for injuring Sifiso Mpila outside Coyote’s Shisa Nyama in Mbombela on August 22, 2021.
He was granted a bail of R20 000.
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Throughout this case, Msibi had always maintained that he was innocent and that the charges were cooked to derail and dent his political career. At the time of his arrest, Msibi was head of elections within the ANC and was also serving as the MEC for agriculture.
At the time, the Mpumalanga ANC had two major events to focus its energies on. Firstly, the 2021 Local Government Elections were held on November 1. The ANC performed dismally during these elections due to internal squabbles, including Msibi’s arrest. The ANC lost power in some municipalities.
Secondly, the ANC was preparing to host its long-overdue conference and Msibi was regarded as the kingmaker going into this. He had also been touted to take over as party treasurer during the conference, which finally sat at the Witbank Dam in April.
During this conference, Msibi’s slate made history by registering a clean sweep, taking all the key positions as they had planned. He was eventually elected the party treasurer, with Mandla Ndlovu elected the chairperson and Muzi Chirwa the secretary.
Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, who is also slowly becoming a powerhouse within the party, was elected deputy secretary and veteran Speedy Mashilo came in as deputy chairperson.
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“I have always said these charges were nothing but a fallacy meant to destroy me. You can imagine if such charges had been brought against someone without proper support and emotional strength, that such accusations would have killed them,” said Msibi as he addressed the supporters who had camped outside the high court.
The Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, confirmed that the charges were provisionally withdrawn and stated that it would not have been in the interest of justice to proceed with the trial.
“The case was provisionally withdrawn due to outstanding information detected by the investigating team. Once the outstanding information had been gathered, a decision on whether to proceed with the charges or not would be made,” Nyuswa said.
This case has not been without its drama, though. At one stage a bail hearing had to be postponed after threats of a bomb inside the courtroom.
