AKA’ MURDER: NDIMANDE BROTHERS OPPOSE EXTRADITION APPLICATION

MANZINI – The extradition of the Ndimande brothers, who were arrested in the country for the murder of South African musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, will be protracted.

This is because the duo of Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande (Nxele) and Malusi Dave Ndimande (Mjay) are opposing the application for their extradition to the Republic of South Africa.
The suspects have been languishing in custody since February 24, 2024. They disclosed their intention to oppose the extradition application during their fifth court appearance before Manzini Principal Magistrate David Khumalo yesterday. In their home country, the siblings are also linked to the murders of Mntimande Kunene, Nhlanhla Ngcobo and the attempted murder of Zamokuhle Mkhwanazi-Ngcobo, which happened in Manzimtoti and Berea, respectively.

Charges

Upon being extradited, they are expected to answer on charges of; conspiracy to commit murder, contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 21 of 1998, unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition and money laundering. During the pair’s court appearance yesterday, Principal Crown Counsel Macebo Nxumalo informed the court that the parties (Crown and respondents’ lawyers) had agreed that the matter should be postponed to May 14, 2024. He said this was because the respondents’ legal team had made a request to file an application for further particulars, which include the disclosure of the full docket filed by the South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the summary of evidence against them. It is worth noting that before the court proceedings got underway, the principal Crown counsel, legal team of the Ndimande brothers and observers from the South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), spent over an hour (from 9:47am to 10:56am) inside the Principal Magistrate, Khumalo’s chambers.  

On the same note, Lawyer Sivesonkhe Ngwenya confirmed the submissions by the Crown. He highlighted to the court that their intention was to oppose the extradition application. He then filed the notice with the court and informed it that they had also served their counterpart. The lawyer highlighted that they would file an opposing affidavit after getting a good disclosure of the docket (further particulars) from the applicant. He said the further particulars included summary of evidence and statements of witnesses as so far the 354-page document (extradition application) only contained allegations, sections of the law, charge sheet and warrant of arrest. As a result, he said they were not content with it. He emphasised that the information highlighted was missing from the extradition application. Principal Magistrate Khumalo informed the respondent that the two parties told the court that the Ndimande brothers intended to oppose the extradition application and the notice to oppose had already been filed.

Papers

He said the court was also informed that the respondents would file their application for further particulars on or before April 24, 2024, while the applicant would be expected to file its responding papers on or before May 10, 2024. He added that the matter will come back to court on May 14, 2024. It is worth noting that this was the fifth court appearance of the accused persons since their arrest on February 24, 2024. After being arrested, they made their maiden court appearance on February 26, 2023. They made their second and third appearances on March 5 and 12, 2024 respectively. Thereafter, they appeared in court on March 20, 2024 and that was when the matter was postponed to yesterday. This means that when they make their sixth appearance in court on May 14, 2024, they will have already spent 82 days behind bars in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The court said on May 14, 2024, when the matter comes back to court, the respondents’ team must have gone through the extradition application and be in a position to indicate whether they opposed it or not.

The duo appeared alongside Mfanawenkhosi Magagula and the office of the DPP in the Mpumalanga Division informed the Manzini Magistrates Court that on November 28, 2020, while he was at Cubana Lounge, KaNyamazane, in Regional Division of Nelspruit, the accused person allegedly killed Sandile Sunnyboy Mathebula by stabbing him with a knife or a similar sharp object. In the second count, it is alleged that on the same day and place, Magagula allegedly attempted to kill Goodnews Tshepiso Ngomane by stabbing him with a knife or a similar sharp object. On the other hand, the accused person is wanted for allegedly defeating the ends of justice. It is alleged that from the aforementioned date, to date, the accused person, with intent to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, fled from the Republic of South Africa to the Kingdom of Eswatini. “He fled from South Africa immediately after allegedly committing the above-mentioned offences and by so doing, he defeated or obstructed the administration of justice,” reads part of the accused person’s charge sheet.

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