AmaZulu goalkeeper Mandlakayise Sangweni, 26, who has been arrested for shooting and injuring an uncle, will spend the last day of the year behind bars after his bail application was postponed in the Ngwelezane Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Sangweni is the brother of Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana defender Siyabonga Sangweni, 31. His younger brother Thamsanqa, 24, plays for Mamelodi Sundowns.
He was arrested following allegations that he had shot his uncle, Vusumuzi Sangweni, on Friday last week.
Sangweni arrived at the court in the back of a police van, with other suspects in unrelated cases.
He was wearing an orange T-shirt and jeans.
Siyabonga and a group of young male friends consoled him before police led him back to the overcrowded holding cell once the matter had been postponed.
The public at the court were unaware of Sangweni’s case but became curious when they saw journalists with cameras.
Vusumuzi was allegedly shot at his homestead at Kwambonambi in Zululand, after an argument with the young soccer player about witchcraft. The family of Vusumuzi, who is in a critical condition at a nearby hospital, was not seen at the court.
Sangweni’s lawyer Vusumuzi Ndlovu told Magistrate C Mhlongo that prosecutor Nkosisapha Mbatha had objected to the bail application being made on Monday because the investigating officer was not present.
“I don’t know why the bail application cannot be done today. But I can confirm the new date,” said Ndlovu.
Mhlongo said Sangweni’s bail application would be heard in the Kwambonambi Magistrate’s Court on January 2.
“You are remanded in custody as the State has opposed your bail,” said Mhlongo. – The Mercury