Newcastle mayor free

THE embattled mayor of Newcastle, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, yesterday became the ANC’s second municipality leader in KwaZulu-Natal to walk free after the National Prosecuting Authority had to drop charges due to insufficient evidence.

Mahlaba,who is also the regional chairperson of the ANC in eMalahleni, was set free after being charged with murder in March this year.

He was accused of ordering the 2016 murder of Wandile Ngobeni, a leader of the ANC Youth League in the region, who was shot dead at a local watering hole with several friends who survived the assault.

In the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court, Mahlaba’s charges were dropped when the State told the court it was not confident it would secure a conviction following the death of one State witness while four others changed their minds, claiming they were placed as witnesses after being pressured by investigators.

As a result, the State was left with only one witness, whose testimony could not be collaborated should the case proceed.

The witness who died is Martin Sithole, shot dead in May this year while with a friend, Buthanani Shange, (also killed in the shooting) in the city centre of Newcastle.

According to local media reports, Israel Zuma, the chief prosecutor for Northern KwaZulu-Natal, conceded before the court that it did not have a strong case.

“There’s no reasonable court that will accept the version of a single witness not corroborated by any other evidence to prove the guilt of the accused,” he said, and surmised that the only logical course of action was for the state to decline to prosecute.

Mahlaba has gone quiet after the withdrawal of the charges and his next move was not immediately clear.