Double murder accused are taxi drivers
They are suspected of kidnapping, killing two female friends
The two men accused of killing two friends Bongeka Phungula and Popi Qwabe in Soweto last month are taxi drivers.
Alec Mamothame, 43, and Sandile Nkosi, 25, stand accused of murder, kidnapping and possession of suspected stolen properties.
They applied for bail in the Protea Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
They allegedly killed Phungula, 28, and Qwabe, 24, on May 12. Phungula’s body was found in Tladi, while Qwabe’s body was found in Naledi .
Mamothame said in a statement read to court by his lawyer Themba Tshabalala that he was driving his taxi at about 8pm in Zola when he was hijacked. He said he had two women and three men as passengers. He, however, managed to escape by jumping off the moving car.
“I escaped while the car was moving. The ladies were in the car when I was hijacked. I do not know if they worked with the hijackers or not,” Mamothame said .
He said he then informed his boss who later called a car tracking company. He said the car was found abandoned in Mapetla, also in Soweto .
Mamothame, a father of two who lives with his wife in Dube, said he intended to plead not guilty. He said he was arrested on May 27. His co-accused Sandile Nkosi, 25, was allegedly found in possession of one of the deceased’s cellphone.
Nkosi said in a statement read to court by his lawyer, advocate Harry Maluleke, that he was a relief taxi driver who worked on Saturdays and Sundays. He said the state’s case was weak and there was no evidence that linked him to the crimes.
“I have no knowledge of the case. I was given instructions [by the owner] to park the car.
“I heard a cellphone ringing (inside the taxi). I tried to establish the owner but failed. I picked up the cellphone and went home with it.
“A few days later my mother told me that the police were looking for me because of the cellphone. I went to the police station where I was apprehended,” he said.
Nkosi said he earned R1 600 salary per month and could not afford R2 000 bail.
The pair’s employer Boys Mkhwanazi, 64, testified that he realised that Mamothame’s T-shirt was torn in the arm and he complained of pain in his knee when he took him home later that night.
“The following weekend, police told me that they had arrested these two for killing the girls. They said they found red lips (lip stick) in the car. They told me that they were going to take finger prints,” he said.
The case continues next week.
Police told me they had arrested the two for killing the girls. They said they found lip stick in the car Boys Mkhwanazi TAXI OWNER