One of the alleged masterminds in the 2017 killing of former ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa will remain behind bars until Friday, when he will apply for bail.
Zweliphansi Skosana, the former municipal manager of Umzimkhulu, made a brief appearance in the Umzimkhulu Magistrate’s Court, southern KwaZulu-Natal, on Tuesday morning, where the charges were read out.
He faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and defeating the administration of justice.
The case was remanded to allow him to appoint a lawyer.
Skosana was arrested in Durban on Monday, and he joins Mlu (Mlungisi) Ncalane, Sibonelo Myeza, and Mbulelo Mpofana, who are currently in custody and undergoing trial.
At the time of his arrest, he was serving as the administrator of the Umzinyathi district municipality anchored in Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Ncengwa’s full confession
His arrest comes a month after Sbusiso Ncengwa, one of the hitmen who shot and killed Magaqa, made a full confession to the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Ncengwa was sentenced to 25 years in jail for his role in Magaqa’s assassination.
In the confession, Ncwengwa alleged that Skosana ordered the hit together with the late ANC heavyweight, Mlulekei Ndobe, who was the former mayor of the Harry Gwala district municipality.
Magaqa’s sin was exposing corruption in the centenary hall project in Umzimkhulu, where millions were being pumped, but the project was not being completed.
Ncengwa also implicated the current communications manager of eThekwini municipality, Mdu Ncalane, whom he told the court moved some money around during a dispute in jail that arose after it was revealed that the main hitmen had underpaid their accomplices.
Among those who came to court was the family of Magaqa and his longtime friend, Thabiso Zulu, who in 2018 told the Moerane commission how Magaqa was killed for standing up against the corrupt in the area, but the matter was being covered up by corrupt police officers and politicians.
