By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The state has added two money laundering charges to the 10 charges facing the five men accused of planning and carrying out the assassination of celebrated musician Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane.
Forbes and Motsoane were shot dead outside the now-defunct Wish on Florida restaurant in Durban.
Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi (30), Lindani Ndimande (35), Siyanda Myeza (21), Mziwethemba Gwabeni (36) and Lindokuhle Ndimande (29) appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The charges include two counts of murder (of AKA and Tibz Motsoane), five charges of attempted murder, illegal possession of unlawful firearms, illegal possession of ammunition and money laundering.
Four of the seven implicated men are Ndimande siblings whose family owns a fleet of taxis in KwaZulu-Natal.
During the brief court appearance, Prosecutor VV Hlatshwayo read the charges facing the five men and added that money laundering charges had been added to the ten that the accused had already been indicted on.
According to KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Elvis Gcweka, the first charge of money laundering is against accused number four, Gwabeni, who is believed to be the coordinator in the murder plot.
Fullview understands that the accused received R800 000 in total for the hit, which was distributed among them by the coordinator.
Accused number one Mkhwanazi, number two Ndimande and number five Ndimande, face the second charge for receiving illegally obtained money.
The magistrate has ordered the men to remain in custody until next Thursday, 14 March, for the start of the bail hearing.
Legal representatives of the five accused have indicated that they will apply for bail and the state has said it will oppose such applications, as the accused are facing, amongst others, premeditated murder, which is regarded as Schedule 6 in South African law, which places the burden on the accused to convince the court that it is not only in the interest of justice, but also that there must exceptional circumstances that he/she must be granted bail.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the suspects’ appearance in the Durban Magistrate’s Court was for the verification of certain aspects in preparation for a bail application.
Meanwhile two other accused in the matter, brothers Siyabonga (28) and Malusi Ndimande (28), appeared in the Manzini District Court in Eswatini on Tuesday for South Africa’s bid to have them extradited.
If the extradition application by the South African authorities is successful, the Ndimande brothers are expected to join the five accused in the 12 charges brought against them.