Trial date set for R500 000 robbery
THE trial of those accused of stealing R500 000 from NFP leader Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi’s home in July is set to begin in the Durban Regional Court next month.
KaMagwaza-Msibi’s domestic worker Amina Vasco and her boyfriend Lindani Mhlongo, along with Felix Khawuleza, Sifiso Khumalo and Sifiso Dube, are facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking.
This comes after two of them allegedly held KaMagwaza-Msibi’s daughter, Gugu Gumede, 22, and Vasco at knifepoint and stole the cash on July 30.
Dube is out on R2 000 bail. Vasco, a Mozambican citizen, and Khumalo abandoned their bail applications and Mhlongo and Khawuleza were denied theirs.
Detective Warrant Officer Krishen Pather said the four had admitted to being part of the plot and the police had DNA evidence linking Khumalo to the crime scene as he and Dube allegedly executed the robbery.
The State’s key witness is a security guard who is alleged to have been privy to the plan to rob the NFP leader’s Durban North home.
He apparently pointed out Khawuleza as the masterminds.
Their trial is set to begin on December 10. Yesterday defence attorney Omar Zondi challenged the case being sent to trial as he believed that the State did not have a strong case.
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