Yani murder suspect in court

A man arrested for a hit-style murder in Motherwell is expected back in the dock on March 20 following his first court appearance on Monday.

More than 100 people protested outside the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court on Monday, demanding that no bail be handed to the accused, Tango Ngini, 40, who was arrested in Sydenham on Friday.

Ngini’s appearance was in connection with Mkhuseli “Khusta” Yani’s murder.

Yani, 40, was killed inside a tavern in Chalumna Street in Motherwell on March 2.

A man, 35, who was meeting with Yani, and who police are not naming for his safety, was also shot wounded.

Some of the placards carried by demonstrators outside court read, “no bail for the killers of Khusta and [Baba] Ningi”.

Yani’s murder is believed to be linked to the ongoing SMME dispute in the Bay.

Ningi, a Nelson Mandela Bay Black Business Caucus coordinator, was shot dead on January 28 in Zwide.

Protesters, many of whom were clad in ANC T-shirts, refused to speak to the media and told a reporter from The Herald to wait for a community leader who had gone to buy KFC for the protesters.

When the man eventually arrived, he at first agreed to speak but changed his mind a few minutes later.

“I have been advised not to speak to the media,” he said.

He also cautioned the reporter to leave the area “for your own safety”.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said when police searched Ngini’s Mercedes-Benz, a 45-calibre pistol with three magazines and 23 rounds of ammunition were found.

“The serial number of the firearm was filed off and will be sent for forensic and ballistic analysis,” Beetge said.

At Yani’s memorial service on Saturday, police arrested a man for allegedly firing shots into the air, and the gun recovered was an illegal weapon.

Beetge said investigations were ongoing.

The weapon seized at Yani’s memorial was one of seven illegal firearms recovered in Port Elizabeth since Saturday.

Beetge said a firearm was found in a washing machine in an Echola Street yard – one street away from where Yani’s funeral took place.

On Monday, a 39-year-old woman was arrested at a house in Tsotsobe Street, Kwazakhele, after police allegedly found a revolver hidden in a shack.

Both firearms had their serial numbers removed, making it difficult to trace their origins.