By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The high-profile double murder case of Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane has been rolled over to Tuesday for the continuation of their bail hearings.
The accused appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
Thus far, the affidavits of accused number one, Lindokuhle Mkhwanazi, accused number two, Lindani Ndimande and accused number three, Siyanda Myeza, have been read in court.
The court heard accused four and five were not ready to proceed with their bail application.
The group is facing 12 charges, including those of murder, attempted murder, and unlawful possession of firearms.
Two of the seven accused remain in custody in eSwatini, awaiting extradition.
During the proceedings, one of the men accused claims his siblings fled to Eswatini because six other siblings were killed by the National Intervention Unit (NIU) probing taxi wars in Durban and they feared for their lives.
Ndimande, who appeared in the Durban magistrate’s court on Monday, said the NIU wanted to “assassinate them [the entire family] at all cost”.
He said the state is “skating on thin ice as it has no evidence linking” him to the murders. He told the court he was a Maskandi artist and part-time bodyguard.
He was arrested on October 25 in Maponya Mall in Gauteng and transported to Durban. He said he was interrogated but denied the allegations.
Magistrate Vincent Hlatshawayo refused a request for the Eswatini charges to be added to accused number 2’s bail application – saying they were irrelevant for a bail hearing.
“They may be relevant, but I see no relevance at this point and time of Eswatini charge sheet, and I refuse to see them. Moreover, I appeal to all court officials to adhere to the rules of fair play”.
Hlatshwayo warned the defence team to ensure they were ready to proceed.
“A bail application is supposed to be urgent, but there have been delays of two days due to the defence. It is concerning because we only have tomorrow [Tuesday] to finish the bail application in this matter. I will, however, postpone this matter because of circumstances,” said Hlatshwayo.
The accused will be kept in custody at the Westville prison.
Forbes and Motsoane were shot and killed outside the popular Wish restaurant in Durban last year.
Meanwhile NPA KZN spokesperson Natasha Kara confirmed that the extradition process of the two brothers in Eswatini is underway. The National Director of Public Prosecutions has signed the relevant documentation, and it has been forwarded to the Department of Justice, which is the central authority figure in the process.