Durban – The man accused of murdering former African National Congress Youth League secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, has abandoned his bail application.
The man, who cannot be named in order to maintain the integrity of further investigations, appeared under heavy police guard at the Umzimkhulu Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in front of a packed gallery.
Outside the courthouse, supporters dressed in ANC regalia hoisted placards demanding that the suspect be denied bail.
Magaqa – a PR councillor at Umzimkhulu Local Municipality at the time of his death - was gunned down alongside colleagues Nontsikelelo Mafa and Jabu Msiya in July last year and died in September 2017 due to complications from multiple gunshot wounds.
Mafa and Msiya both survived the ambush and were placed under protection.
It was claimed Magaqa’s “assassination” was a result of his speaking out against corruption within the municipality, which falls within the ANC’s Harry Gwala Region.
KwaZulu-Natal has been plagued by political killings, with a spike recorded since 2011. In late 2016, premier Willies Mchunu established the Moerane Commission of inquiry, tasked with probing the underlying causes of violence in the province, from 2011 onwards.
Mchunu will be tabling a summary of the 424-page report before the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature on Thursday afternoon. Thereafter, the entire report will be made available for public scrutiny.
Magistrate Khulile Mdladlamba adjourned the matter to October 25 for a provisional indictment to be drawn up and the suspect was remanded in custody.