Joseph ‘Big Joe’ Nyalungu was remanded in custody when he appeared in the Mkhuhlu Magistrate’s Court this morning.

He was expecting to hear the judgment on his bail application he had made on October 18.

The matter was posponed to Friday, for the judgment to be delivered, as the presiding magistrate over the bail matter had another case in Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court to preside over.

A visibly frustrated Nyalungu instructed his lawyer, Bheki Shilubane, to ask the court to make sure that there was no further postponements on Friday. “My instructions from my client are that I humbly request this respected court to ensure that the judgment is delivered on Friday without any further postponements,” Shilubane told the court.

The magistrate assured the defence that the magistrate presiding over Nyalungu’s bail application would be present on Friday.

Nyalungu was arrested on October 15 after the police’s National Intervention Unit and the Mpumalanga Hawks raided his workshop in Mkhuhlu. They found two sticks of dynamite, two detonators, two chords and three rounds of 458 rifle ammunition. The explosives are said to be popular for ATM bombings and cash-in-transit heists.

Following his arrest, Nyalungu spent a night behind bars before he briefly appeared in the Mkhuhlu Magistrate’s court on October 16.
He was then remanded in custody pending his next court appearance on October 18, when he formally applied for bail.

It was then that the presiding officer who heard the bail application postponed the matter to today for judgment, while Nyalungu remained in custody.

The state has opposed this bail, saying Nyalungu was likely to commit similar offences if released.

Nyalungu’s reasons for the bail application included health issues, him needing to care for his children, his employees being able to draw salaries, and that he had always attended court without fail in many of the other cases he has faced.

As always, the court was filled to capacity during Nyalungu’s appearance.

Meanwhile, the paper can reveal that Nyalungu is expected to appear in the Hoedspruit Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo on a different case tomorrow. This is one of Nyalungu’s many other cases he is facing in various courts, including the Mbombela High Court, Nelspruit Regional Court, Hazyview Magistrate’s Court and Skukuza Regional Court, among others.

He is facing a money laundering charge in the Hoedspruit court and was released on R10 000 bail by the Naphuno Magistrate’s Court in Lenyenye outside Tzaneen on this matter late last year.

Other charges that Nyalungu is facing in other courts include rhino poaching, murder, racketeering, theft, tax evasion, money laundering and corruption.