Durban — The senior public prosecutor (SPP) at Pinetown Magistrate’s Court was going through further supplementary representations that have been made by the defence of three men charged with the murder of an accused who had formerly been suspected of being linked to a mass shooting.
Siphamandla Hadebe, 24, was allegedly gunned down in broad daylight in Wyebank five days after being released on R8 000 bail last year. Hadebe and his co-accused, Njabulo Mchunu, 31, and Comfort Ngubo, 22, were granted bail on August 16, and charged with possession of a firearm without a licence as well as ammunition.
The three were said to have been linked to the mass shooting in Savannah Park, but were never charged with murder.
Hadebe was allegedly shot and killed by men who arrived at a house in Wyebank in a white Ford double cab with a police registration plate, suspected to be fake. Another person was wounded when the men opened fire.
Siyabonga Shozi, 36, Nkosinathi Gumede, 38, and Nkosingiphile Nzimande, 29, appeared in the regional court on Friday where the matter was adjourned to August 10 for a decision from the SPP on the defence’s further supplementary representations.
On July 6 the State handed the defence new statements after it had gone through representations made by the men’s counsel around concerns it had previously raised verbally in court, namely the men’s alibis that were unverified by the State, outstanding DNA and ballistics.
On Friday the men’s legal representative, Arvina Arjoon, handed back further supplementary representations based on the statements given to her by the State on the last occasion.
“The further supplementary representations were done because the documents that were given to us were irrelevant, the chain of evidence is incomplete, and the magistrate adjourned the matter for the SPP’s decision,” said Arjoon on Tuesday to the Daily News.
In their bail applications last year, all three men submitted statements and affidavits in relation to their alibis on the day of Hadebe’s murder.
Charges against Hadebe, Mchunu, and Ngubo were this year provisionally withdrawn, however, Ngubo was re-arrested on the same day and charged with five murders that were committed in Clermont.
Ngubo was again charged with being found in possession of a firearm without a licence.
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Daily News