By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The case against six men accused of killing Kaizer Chiefs player Luke Fleurs was postponed by the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court.
The identities of the six men arrested for the murder were revealed for the first time on Friday morning.
Ndumiso Moswane, Fernando Sive, Nhlakanipo Dlamini, Franky Xaba, Maredi Mphahlele and Hlomikhawu Thembinkosi will remain in custody following their brief first appearance in court.
They face charges of murder, robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and defeating the ends of justice.
The postponement aims to facilitate Legal Aid applications.
In her ruling, magistrate Annaline Africa ordered the media to refrain from showing her face and that of court officials.
Africa asked the accused if they would like to apply for legal representation from Legal Aid or have their own lawyers. They all requested Legal Aid’s services.
They were told they could only apply for bail after seven days.
This after state prosecutor, Arnold Limekhaya opposed their bail application.
It is alleged that the suspects are part of a syndicate behind car hijackings in Gauteng.
“The hijacking part, that falls under robbery with aggravating circumstances,” said the NPA in Gauteng’s Phindi Mjonondwane.
“On the charge sheet itself, we have five charges. One or murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm, as well as defeating the ends of justice.”
Fleurs was ambushed while waiting for assistance at a petrol station on 14th Avenue and Hendrik Potgieter in Honeydew on 3 April.
The Chiefs defender was confronted by two armed suspects who arrived in a white BMW 1 Series.
The men pointed Fleurs with a firearm before shooting him once on the upper body outside of his red VW Golf 8 GTI.
After seizing the 24-year-old’s car, one suspect hastily fled the scene, with his accomplice in close pursuit. Fleurs was rushed to the nearest medical centre, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Outside court, Luke’s dad, Theo told the media he’s deeply hurt by what the suspects did to his son.
“Parents need to teach their kids how to be good people. We now have this situation where we lose innocent lives over nothing.
“What they did to my son is sad. It’s us parents who fail our kids. We need to ask them how they’re feeling and how they’re doing at school,” Theo said.
Fleurs began his career as a professional footballer by joining Ubuntu at the age of 12-year.
He became the first player from the well-regarded Cape Town academy to play in the first division of the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
The 24-year-old joined SuperSport United from Ubuntu in 2018, making his debut in November of the same year.
Fleurs played over 70 times for SuperSport before leaving as a free agent to sign a contract with Chiefs in October 2023.