Progress at last in SAMWU murder case

Some light has finally appeared at the end of the tunnel in the murder case of the two slain SAMWU members, Timpson Musetsho (50) and Ronald Mani (50). This was the message from the provincial secretary of COSATU in Limpopo, Mr Gerald Twala, last Wednesday (27^th).

Twala addressed a large group of supporters, including the families of the deceased, who gathered outside the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court, that he was convinced that the case could now go to trial.

The three Radzuma brothers, Percy, Simon and Ndivhuwo from the Makwarela Township near Sibasa, and Thabo Sibanze from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), stand accused of murdering Musetsho and Mani in 2019. The four suspects have been remanded in custody since their first appearance.

The state prosecutor for the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court, Ms Mashudu Nekhumbe, read out the decisions of the deputy director of public prosecutions, which stated that the murder case against Thabo Sibanze would be provisionally withdrawn while his other cases continued. He is being prosecuted for being an illegal immigrant from Eswatini, intimidation and being in possession of stolen property. He will be formally charged on 12 August 2022, when the date will be set for his trial at the Sibasa Regional Court to begin.

Of the three Radzuma brothers, only Simon and Percy will stand trial for the murder of Musetsho and Mani. Simon faces 20 charges and Percy 27, ranging from murder to conspiracy to commit murder. Ndivhuwo Radzuma was found not to be involved in Musetsho and Mani’s murders. He was, however, charged with the murder of another suspect in this case.

The magistrate, Ms Shirley Nemutandani, postponed Simon and Percy’s case, as well as Ndivhuwo’s case, to 30 September 2022, when dates will be set for their trials at the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou.

Twala was satisfied with this outcome. “We are now convinced that the murder case is progressing well as the suspects will finally go on trial at the High Court. We also want those who hired the hitmen to be arrested and face the might of the law,” he said.

Mr Lucky Mani, who represented the Musetsho and Mani families, was also relieved about the progress in the case and said he hoped that the trial would start very soon.

Date:04 August 2022

By: Silas Nduvheni

Read: 1504