Priest in court for attempted murder case
MAN, HIS VEHICLE SET ALIGHT
A LIMPOPO councillor who escaped death after he was nearly burnt alive in his car in an alleged hijacking ordeal came face to face with his two alleged attackers for the first time yesterday.
Steve Mashabela, an ANC ward 14 councillor in Polokwane, could not hide his anger at seeing the men accused of attempting to murder him. The duo, one of them a pastor, appeared in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder.
The two cannot be named as they are yet to plead. They were remanded in custody until March 17 for a bail application.
Mashabela was kidnapped at his home in Kwena-Moloto village near Seshego in November. He claims he fought off his attackers with an axe until one of them pulled out a gun.
Mashabela then had both his hands tied up with a cable and bundled into the back of his car. The men drove him to a secluded spot near the Chuene Resort, about 70km away.
They then allegedly doused his car with petrol before setting it on fire, with Mashabela inside.
He, however, managed to escape after kicking the door open and fled into the bushes, albeit with serious injuries to his head and right leg. The pastor’s lawyer, Mphafolane Koma, told Sowetan that he wanted his client released on bail.
“I am eagerly awaiting the date for the bail application and want to get my client released because this is a small matter.”
The other accused has asked for a state lawyer.
Mashabela, 42, said he wanted to know why the men had attacked him. “They put my life in danger and I’m still living in pain as a result of their unprovoked attack on me,” he said.
Magistrate Mikateko Mabobo told the investigating officer to do a thorough work on the matter before the next court date.
Police spokesman LieutenantColonel Moatshe Ngoepe said they would oppose bail. “We are satisfied with our investigations over the matter; the two were positively linked to the attack on the victim,” Ngoepe said.
He said the two were arrested in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, last week. The third suspect in the case has since died.
The cause of his death was not clarified yesterday.