More holes appeared to be poked into the State’s case against former Community Policing Forum (CPF) members, Ismaeel Dhalech and Ebrahim Adams, when their murder cases resumed in the Newcastle Court last Thursday.

Both are accused of the murder of 26-year-old Khulekani Hlatshwayo, who died on December 24, 2022, after he was alleged to have burgled a house.

The case resumed following the November 26 acquittal of their co-accused, former CPF members Yaseen Mohamed and Mahomed Ashraf.

Appearing for the defence was Mark Jacobs, who owns a security company.  Jacobs, originally a State witness but never called to testify was brought to the stand by the defence after the court declined their application for him to be summoned.

Calm and articulate, Jacobs identified the security company present during the incident as ADT and highlighted inconsistencies in a written statement taken by Investigating Officer De Meyer in August 2024, claiming that portions of the statement did not reflect what he had actually said.

The Court also heard from CPF chairperson Dhalech, who took the stand for the first time, recalling that he had responded to the incident (the attempted break-in by Hlatshwayo) after it was shared on a local community group that included law enforcement and CPF members.

“As the chairman of the CPF, I was obligated to respond,” he explained.

He described asking Hlatshwayo to come down from the roof of a house he had allegedly attempted to break into.

Hlatshwayo was apprehended behind the house, and Dhalech said he had gone to the location where community members had gathered.

According to him, residents stopped assaulting Hlatshwayo when he arrived: “They knew I would report any assault to the SAPS.”

Dhalech denied ever handcuffing or touching Hlatshwayo, stating he had arrived wearing only shorts and a T-shirt and carried no restraints.

He also clarified that ADT officers, identified in previous testimony as Mfanafuthi Dludlu and Nkanyiso Zwane, were the ones who made the arrest and were instructed by the SAPS to take the suspect to the police station.

After giving the crowd instructions to step back, Dhalech said he remained 20–25 metres away before leaving the scene.

He told the court he thought Hlatshwayo was in safe hands with ADT and insisted he never saw the suspect in a battered condition before leaving. Emphasising his clean record, Dhalech asserted that he had never been charged with any crime and would not hesitate to arrest anyone assaulting another individual.

The trial of Dhalech and Adams is scheduled to continue on January 23, 2026.

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