Johannesburg - The trial of four men accused of killing Mozambican hawker Emmanuel Sithole was postponed in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Mthinto Bhengu, Sizwe Mngomezulu, Ayanda Sibiya and Sifundi Mzimela allegedly stabbed Sithole, also known as Emmanuel Josias, to death on a street of the northern Johannesburg township, last month. They face charges of murder and robbery.
Bhengu and Sibiya told the court, through their lawyer Vinesh Ramlakan, that they wanted to enter into a plea agreement with the state.
Their co-accused, Mngomezulu and Mzimela would plead not guilty. “My clients will plead not guilty to the charges, and those are the instructions I have,” their lawyer Vhonani Matshidza told the court.
There were no demonstrators outside court compared to their first appearance last month.
Sithole’s sister, Thando Sithole told journalists outside court that her brother’s full names were Emmanuel Josias Sithole. President Jacob Zuma announced during Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria last month that Sithole’s actual name was Josias, and that he was an illegal immigrant.
The matter was postponed to May 13 for a possible plea agreement and for Bhengu and Sibiya to give further instructions to their legal representative, Ramlakan.
ANA