Maroc - dailynews.co.za - News - 18/Feb 07:56

Murder trial: witnesses identify ANC member’s alleged killers

The men who shot an ANC member, Siduduzo Magwaza, in January 2021, were identified more than once at the crime scene. The State witnesses who named the alleged murderers Siphamandla Makhanya and Mxolisi Percy Hadebe provided corroborated testimony, according to the Durban High Court.On January 12, 2021, Magwaza was shot at his Cornubia flat. After being brought to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, he passed away there. Magwaza requested that Hadebe be contacted to transport him to the hospital after he was shot. Magwaza and Hadebe were acquaintances or friends.They were both members of a Project Steering Committee that handled tender projects in Verulam, Ward 102. Magwaza was instrumental in the allocation of tender projects in this ward.Delivering her judgment, Judge Sharmaine Balton said the evidence of State witnesses, Thuli Mthembu, Sicelo Magwaza, and Sakhile Zungu was corroborative. The trio had told the court during the trial that Makhanya, who came to the Verulam area in Cornubia, said he was there to kill politicians. When Makhanya said this, he did not specify whom he would assassinate.“Zungu, Sicelo Magwaza, and Mthembu all said that Makhanya said he was there to kill politicians. The evidence of Magwaza and Thuli stands uncontradicted, they don’t have a reason to lie,” she said.Moreover, another State witness, Seun Annaldah, identified Makhanya during an identification parade. Although he said he could not see Hadebe’s face, he saw his structure. Annaldah said he knew Hadebe as they all resided in the same area and were always in the company of Magwaza (the victim).While leading his evidence-in-chief, he said when Magwaza was shot, he said he was going to tell him who shot him. However, he did not get a chance to do that.Another State witness, Fikile Radebe, said she received a call telling her that Magwaza had been shot. While she was on that call, windows were opened in her home and she heard someone outside talking over the phone saying, “Umshikashika (mission) that we came to do at Ring four is done.”Ring four is where Magwaza was living.Upon hearing this, Radebe peeped through the window to see who was saying this. That person had been wearing long pants and an Adidas top. On January 13, she saw the same person wearing the same clothes from the previous night and it was established that it was Makhanya.Furthermore, according to cellphone records, Makhanya made that long call to his girlfriend, where he spoke of umshikashika. Before the murder, Makhanya, told Mthembu that his job was to kill politicians and once he was done, the money for the assassination was deposited into the bank account of his girlfriend.However, during cross-examination by State senior prosecutor advocate Elvis Gcweka, Makhanya disputed Mthembu’s evidence. Makhanya claimed he had a secret love affair with Mthembu. He said at one stage, Mthembu told Hadebe to ask him for money.However, Balton said this was a fabricated story by Makhanya to try to taint the evidence of Mthembu. Judgment continues.nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za