Mandla Msibi Jailed, fired and a bomb scare - all in just three days
Msibi has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for his alleged role in an incident during August
MBOMBELA - Pandemonium erupted at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday when the bail hearing of former MEC for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Environmental Affairs, Mandla Msibi (45), had to abruptly end due to a bomb scare.
Msibi has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for his alleged role in an incident during August in which Sindela Sipho Lubisi and Dingane Ngwenya were killed, and Sfiso Mpila wounded, near Coyotes Shisanyama.
Msibi, along with co-accused Njabulo Dennis Mkhonto and Cyril Mnisi, were in their second day of the bail hearing when the bomb scare occurred.
They first appeared on Tuesday for a bail application, after Msibi and the two others had handed themselves over to the police on Monday morning. The case was postponed to Wednesday for the application to continue.
But before the investigating officer, WO Boy Bhila, could reach the 10th minute of his testimony in the witness box, Msibi had to be taken back to the cells and the court’s occupants were rushed outside and joined the crowd that had gathered in his support, after an evacuation order was given.
The NPA’s spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said Magistrate Susan Monaledi had received a message of the alleged bomb before ordering the occupants to evacuate the building.
It did not take long for the police’s bomb disposal unit to arrive to comb the building for any evidence of an explosive device. But it turned out the scare was a hoax.
“The police couldn’t find anything tangible to prove the bomb’s existence,”
Col Donald Mdhluli, the provincial police spokesperson, said, adding that the matter would be investigated.
The case was postponed to Thursday, and, according to Nyuswa, the trio would remain in custody until their next appearance.
The total number of suspects now in custody in connection with the shooting of
Lubisi, Ngwenya and Mpila, is five.
Two other suspects, Joseph Charlie Ngwenya (35) and Tshepo Matsane (30), appeared in court earlier and were release on bail of R20 000 each. They will appear in court on December 6.
The three victims, all ANC members, were gunned down while a list conference was being held on Sunday August 22, in what was then deemed political warfare within the party.
The victims were travelling in a VW Polo in the Coyotes vicinity when they were ambushed by armed suspects driving in a blue double-cab bakkie at around 21:00 that evening.
Ward 45 (Umjindi) councillor, Lifa Blessing Nkosi, previously told Lowvelder that clashes within the ruling party had led to the incident.
It followed a dispute at an ANC list conference that was taking place at Nutting House Lodge just outside Mbombela.
Nkosi alleged that the attack on his comrades was a failed hit on him.
On Tuesday, the premier of Mpumalanga,
Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, suspended Msibi from his position with immediate effect.
The premier, in a media briefing, said that due to the seriousness of the charges and the expectation that he would dedicate a fair amount of time to the case, he had been relieved of his position as MEC.
Busisiwe Shiba will act in Msibi’s former position.
Mtshewni-Tsipane stated that she considered Msibi a comrade and that she has known him for a long time and holds him in high regard. She emphasised that he should have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If Msibi were to be found not guilty, the premier said she would then be free to make him a part of her executive council once again.
In the meantime, he will remain an ordinary member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature.
She said it has only recently become a policy of the ANC that someone steps down under these circumstances and that this was an effort to redeem the integrity of the organisation.
This move, she said, was in the best interest of the ANC as well as Mpumalanga.