Delmas High court postpones taxi murder case for a year
Sergeant Malatsi testified that Buthelezi and Masondo should not be granted bail because they would continue to assassinate Vukanini Taxi Association members.
The Delmas High Court postponed the case against the alleged killers of Fannie Khumalo by almost a year on August 28.
Khumalo was a taxi boss from Kinross who was gunned down at his home in Thistle Grove last year.
He was preparing his minibuses to transport commuters when four armed men shot him seven times in the chest.
He died on the spot.
One suspect arrested was Elias Mhlanga, a taxi owner and Vukanini Taxi Association (Vukta) member whose membership was terminated by the association before the murder.
Mhlanga is the alleged mastermind behind Khumalo’s murder.
He was arrested in December next to the Kinross Police Station, while Vuyisile Buthelezi was arrested in KwaZulu-Natal, also in December.
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A third arrested suspect turned state witness, but he died in December after a short illness.
The Evander Magistrate’s Court turned down Mhlanga’s bail application. Buthelezi, who also appeared in court on the same day, opted not to apply for bail then.
He later changed his mind and applied for bail but was also denied.
During his bail application, Buthelezi told the court he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) and required treatment, which he did not get in the prison’s hospital.
However, Sergeant Amos Malatsi, the investigating officer, refuted this claim, stating that Buthelezi was misleading the court.
Malatsi testified that he had visited the hospital and spoke with a nurse caring for Buthelezi.
He said the nurse told him (Malatsi) that Buthelezi was not a TB patient but had been diagnosed with another illness for which he was receiving treatment.
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This ailment was not disclosed in court. The nurse wrote a letter raising her concern about Buthelezi, who wanted to force her to write a letter to the court, claiming he had TB.
A fourth suspect, Khulekani Masondo, was arrested in Gauteng last year. He was shot in both legs during his arrest and hospitalised for a while.
Masondo, who also applied for bail with Buthelezi, testified that after the police had shot him in the legs, he was in no physical condition for prison.
He testified that a hospital in Vosloorus amputated his left leg, and he now used a wheelchair.
Masondo told the court that neither Evander Hospital nor the correctional services’ hospital gave him the necessary treatment.
The State prosecutor, Emmanuel Moloto, told the court the accused received a wheelchair, medication for his amputated leg, and physical therapy for his right leg.
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The court also heard that Masondo retaliated during his arrest and allegedly shot at the police.
Malatsi testified that Buthelezi and Masondo should not get bail because they would continue assassinating Vukanini Taxi Association members.
Moloto told the court, at the time, that the pair had a long hit list of Vukta members.
Malatsi testified that while in custody, Buthelezi and Masondo plotted to kill the son of Vukta chairperson Fanyana Sibanyoni to reach Sibanyoni.
He said the bail applications of Buthelezi and Masondo raised questions because the high court date was set for trial already.
Moloto told the court both accused were not good candidates for bail because of the lack of exceptional circumstances in their applications.
They were denied bail by the Evander Magistrate’s Court.
All three will return to the Delmas High Court in August next year. They will remain in prison until then.
