KwaZulu-Natal - ANC supporters bayed for justice outside the Ramsgate High Court on Thursday as one of the men arrested in connection with Sunday’s murders of two party leaders sat inside waiting.
Their anticipation, however, turned into shock a few hours later and they ran singing and shouting to the opposite exit of the court building, trying in vain to chase the police van they realised was driving 30-year-old Sifiso Khumalo away.
It had been a confusing few hours at the South Coast court as the issue of Khumalo’s legal defence took centre stage and, eventually unresolved, resulted in him being taken back into police custody.
It is believed he would be taken to Pietermaritzburg today to consult a legal aid attorney. He is to appear in court again next week with his co-accused, Samuel Cele, 34, who on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to the murders of ANC branch secretary Bheki Chiliza and local chairman Dumisani Malunga.
Chiliza, 39, and Malunga, 42, were shot dead while driving home from an ANC meeting on Sunday evening.
Party members and supporters, some armed with posters reading “Down with senseless political killings”, waited near the court yesterday amid a heavy police presence.
When Khumalo, who is an ANC Youth League branch leader, eventually emerged, wearing a red zip-up tracksuit top, the crowd was unaware, and resorted to whistling, singing and dancing when it eventually realised it had missed him.
Cosatu provincial secretary Zet Luzipho and ANC regional secretary Sihle Zi-kalala addressed those who had gathered, thanking the police for the quick arrests and calling for justice.
Luzipho said members would not rest until justice was served. - The Mercury