Yesterday, Tuesday, December 17, the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court had to postpone the bail application of three men facing charges of kidnapping a prominent businessman because one of the suspects was not brought to court.

The three men, Esmael Nangy, Stefan Brites and Sergeant Samkelo Honest Mlotshwa, are accused of kidnapping the owner of Desai Cash and Carry, Zakariyya Desai.

Some men armed with AK-47s in a VW Polo kidnapped Desai on September 10 shortly after he had attended prayers at the local mosque. They fired some shots when some other people tried to prevent the kidnapping, but no injuries were reported.

The suspects were arrested over two weeks ago and previously appeared in court, and were remanded in custody until their bail application yesterday.

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Meanwhile, several irate members of the community allegedly threatened the attorney representing Nangy, and forced him to leave the court premises.

A source told this publication that the protesters who called for bail for the accused to be denied were determined to physically deal with Nangy himself, as they consider him to be a kidnapping kingpin and the mastermind behind Desai’s kidnapping. Some of the protesters apparently believed that Nangy had gone missing and could not be accounted for, but the Hawks disputed this. Their provincial spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, said the investigating officer in charge of this case had gone to Westville Correctional Services and found Nangy. “The accused was there at the facility, but could not be brought to court since his lawyer was prevented from getting into the court by the rowdy crowd, so the matter was postponed to December 27,” said Mhlongo.

Mlotshwa is a SAPS member who is attached to the Lebombo Port of Entry. Before he was arrested, some KZN Hawks members raided his Matsulu house at 01:00 on November 21. He was not at home at the time, and his neighbours called to tell him some armed criminals were breaking into his house. He immediately contacted the Matsulu Police Station, but upon their arrival, they were informed that the ‘criminals’ were in fact Hawks, and that they were investigating the kidnapping case.

The house was later torched, and Mlotshwa’s attorney, Vusi Segodi, blamed this on the Hawks. He claimed Mlotshwa had told him that the Hawks members had told the community that he was an abductor and that they should burn his house. “Indeed the house was set on fire and the so-called members of the Hawks failed to cordon it off and secure it as a crime scene,” said Segodi. He confirmed that an arson case was opened at the Matsulu Police Station.

Segodi said the Hawks team then descended on Mlotshwa’s other house in Matsulu. They searched it and found his service pistol, which they took to the Matsulu Police Station.

Mhlongo disputed the allegations that members of the Hawks instructed the community to burn Mlotshwa’s house. “Under no circumstances can the Hawks instruct the members of the community to commit a crime. Their mandate was to investigate this very serious organised crime of kidnapping the victim. Also, the members of the Hawks were from Durban, and they therefore do not know members of the community who reside in that location in Mpumalanga,” he said.