Victim feigned death

Details of how a man pretended to be dead after being shot and stabbed multiple times, and then ran into a tavern for help, emerged in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday as a trial date was arranged for the two alleged assailants.

Thokozani Namete, 22, and Mabhuti Kilani, 33, both of Motherwell, will stand trial on May 2 for charges which include kidnapping, murder, attempted murder and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

It is alleged that at about 10pm on September 3 2016, the accused, armed with three shotguns and eight rounds of ammunition, stormed a house in Mkhombe Street, forced Zamumzi Sotyele and Mzwanele Hojisi into a vehicle and drove them to a bushy area near NU30, where they forced the men to lie on the ground with guns pointed at their heads.

Sotyele was immediately shot dead, while Hojisi pretended to be dead after being shot.

The accused left but returned a short while later and, on realising that Hojisi was indeed still alive, stabbed him several times.

Hojisi again pretended to be dead before fleeing to a tavern in NU13, where he called for help.

He was rushed to hospital. Namete and Kilani were arrested on September 14 2016.