One of the two hitmen hired to kill former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa claims he was not paid the full amount he was promised for the hit.
Sbusiso Ncengwa claims he was promised R1-million for the murder in 2017 but received only R70 000.
Ncengwa also claims that two ANC politicians who hired him and his friend, Jabulani Mdunge, to kill Magaqa also promised to buy him a flat worth R600 000 but never fulfilled their promises.
These are some of the allegations contained in Ncengwa’s affidavit that he wanted to present as evidence in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday but was denied the opportunity to do so.
Ncengwa fired his legal aid lawyer on the spot and had planned to come clean and expose all the details on who ordered the hit on Magaqa and how the politician was killed.
Ncengwa told Judge Nontutuzelo Mlaba that the lawyer was not doing what he asked him to do.
The court granted him permission to hire a new lawyer.
Sunday World also understands, from reliable sources close to the case, that Ncengwa also wanted to reveal in court that the two ANC politicians who hired him and Mdunge to kill Magaqa used to pay his legal fees and then stopped when they realised that he wanted to make a full disclosure, which forced him to use a legal aid lawyer.
“Ncengwa wants the whole of South Africa to know who ordered the hit on Magaqa, how it was executed, and he wants the culprits to face the wrath of the law,” one of our moles, who asked not to be named as he fears for his life, said.
Ncengwa submitted his affidavit to member of parliament and leader of the National Coloured Congress, Fadiel Adams, who was visiting Westville Prison in Durban, as part of parliamentary oversight duties on January 24.
Adams said he commissioned the affidavit from Ncengwa after he heard his story.
“Ncengwa has been begging the authorities to grant him an opportunity to take the stand in court and expose the people who ordered Magaqa’s murder, but he has been denied at every turn as there are officials protecting the culprits who are politicians,” Adams said.
The MP said he hasn’t forwarded Ncengwa’s affidavit to the police as the hitmen have implicated a number of officers in his statement.
“Ncengwa claims that they were escorted by police from Umzimkhulu to Durban after they killed Magaqa and that the officers were paid R20 000 for their service.
“On top of that, he also reveals that the AK-47 used to kill Magaqa was bought with money from a SAPS crime intelligence slush fund and that the getaway vehicle, used in the hit, was also purchased with money from the same fund.
“To top it all, Mdunge, who actually pulled the trigger and shot Magaqa, was a registered police informer on the payroll of crime intelligence,” Adams said.
He said until some of the police officers implicated by Ncengwa are arrested, he isn’t comfortable handing the affidavit to the SAPS.
“Police have been covering up their tracks on Magaqa’s murder from day one, and how can we trust them with this affidavit?” he asked.
Ncengwa, in his affidavit, seen by Sunday World, named former Umzimkhulu mayor, Mluleki Ndobe, and the former municipal manager, Zweliphansi Skhosana, as the men who ordered the hit on Magaqa as the former youth leader was about to report them to the police for corruption.
Ndobe and Skhosana were -initially arrested but later released as police said they couldn’t find a direct link between them and hitmen as they allegedly used intermediaries to recruit Ncengwa and Mdunge.
Ndobe reportedly killed himself after he was released from prison.
Ncengwa and Mdunge ambushed and shot Magaqa, who was then a councillor, multiple times while he was at a car wash with colleagues, Jabu Mzizi and Nonsikelelo Mafa, in Umzimkhulu in July 2017.
The former ANCYL fire-brand died at Albert Luthuli Hospital in September of the same year.
The matter was postponed to March 27, where Ncengwa’s affidavit is expected to be submitted as official evidence.
