Detective opposes bail for pastor murder accused

THE man accused of killing Durban pastor Mhlonishwa Sakhile Langa took being charged with murder as a joke, a policeman told the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Detective Captain Paul Mulder, the investigating officer, said during Jabulani Mthethwa’s bail application that he should not be granted bail, saying he would not be safe outside as Langa had been loved by many people.

Mulder said Mthethwa showed no remorse when being charged at the Point police station.

“He took the charges against him as a joke. Langa was a well-known member of the community. He was a high-profile person. He gave his life to protect others, but he showed no remorse. When he was charged, he just brushed this off,” said Mulder.

He said Mthethwa was “arrogant” when interviewed and could not give him a proper address, only revealing that he lived in Cato Crest.

He said his address was never verified as a result.

Langa, an eThekwini Municipality official, pastor and actor was hailed as a hero after being shot and killed when he tried to stop a gunman who had robbed a shop in Durban’s South Beach area on July 14.

Mthethwa, 55, was apprehended by members of the public and a revolver and live rounds were found in his possession.

Mthethwa is also charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

A ballistic report of the bullet found lodged in Langa’s chest, fingerprint results, and the postmortem reports had not been finalised.

Mthethwa’s attorney Anele Mveku argued that Mulder had had enough time to verify Mthethwa’s address.

However, Mulder said he was only given the area and not the proper address.

In an affidavit read by Mveku in court, Mthethwa said he was a security guard, married customarily and was a father of seven children.

Mulder told the court that on the day of the incident, Mthethwa and two accomplices entered a shop in the South Beach area and threatened the shop owner and attendant with guns.

“The shop owner carried a 9-yearold child at the time, was threatened with a firearm and told to lie down, while Mthethwa and his accomplice took R10 000 cash and cigarettes worth R12 000.

“The shop attendant gave chase to Mthethwa towards Hospital Road, where he came across Langa who tried to assist him to catch Mthethwa, who pulled out a firearm and shot him once in the chest. He died on the scene,” said Mulder.

He said the police were in possession of CCTV footage of the robbery, which would form part of the evidence against Mthethwa.

Mulder said the two accomplices were still on the run.

Mveku argued that the description given by the witnesses was not good enough.

“Identification is crucial in robbery cases. In this case, the witnesses did not give a distinct description, except that he was dark and wore dark clothes.”

She suggested it was easy for the witnesses to give a description of Mthethwa because he was arrested.

The bail application continues.