The Roodepoort magistrate’s court has heard that the suspects linked to Luke Fleurs’ murder have admitted to being in possession of the Kaizer Chiefs defender’s car.
It was also revealed during their bail hearing on Thursday that the suspects admitted to stripping Fleurs’ red VW Golf 8 GTI with the intention of selling its parts.
This was according to Paseka Temeki, the prosecutor, as the state opposed the bail applications of the suspects.
Detective Sergeant Nare Benedict Moloto, the case’s investigating officer, compiled an affidavit on which Temeki based his argument.
In his affidavit, Moloto said police obtained statements from the suspects and that they admitted to being in possession of Fleurs’ car and had planned to strip its parts.
Moloto said the suspects claimed that they saw Fleurs’ car parked in front of someone’s yard for days and decided to take it for their own benefit.
The keys to Fleurs’ car were found in the possession of the suspects.
Tracker signal lost
After the shooters drove off with the car, a tracker signal for the car was lost next to West Gate Mall.
Moloto said this could be because either a jammer was used or the tracker was removed.
The police received calls from informers on April 7 and 8 that the suspects had been seen driving around in Fleurs’ car in Skoonplaas [an informal settlement in Springs] and Slovoville in Soweto, respectively.
He claimed that during their arrest, the suspects acknowledged driving the car to a specific location in Skoonplaas in order to conceal it.
They were also seen hiding Fleurs’ car in another person’s yard in Slovoville on April 8. On April 9, police conducted an operation to trace the suspects, he said.
The suspects were subsequently found and arrested at their “hiding place”.
Accused number four Franky Xaba’s phone was taken during their detention, and a message from an unidentified individual was discovered on it.
Vehicle found stripped
“This communication was to the effect that if the suspects get arrested, they must confess to the crime because if they do not, ‘their’ names will come out and they will also be arrested,” said Moloto.
Moloto said the car was recovered with no registration plates, and the keys were found in the possession of the suspects. It had already been stripped when the police recovered it.
Ndumiso Ndura Moswane, 26, Fernando Nando Sive, 25, Nhlakanipho Dlamini, 21, Franky Xaba, 25, Maredi Mphahlele, 36, and 31-year-old Thembinkosi Hlomikhawu are in the dock for the hijacking and murder of the Chiefs defender.
The group faces charges of murder (common purpose), robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the ends of justice.
During a bail application last week, the suspects told the court that they neither hijacked nor killed Fleurs, noting that the state’s case is weak and they cannot be linked to the crime.
Suspects’ safety is in jeopardy
Moloto stated that since the suspects are from Slovoville, there is a chance that their safety will be jeopardised, and they should not be released on bail.
He claimed that the nation is still in shock over the murder and that Slovoville residents support the Chiefs.
He went on to say that because of the gravity of the offences and the potential punishments they could face if found guilty, they might avoid going to trial.
He added that their attempt to hide the vehicle meant they were protecting the real culprits, who are still at large. “This is evident from the intercepted communication.”
Furthermore, he said, the suspects should not get bail because they know where the witnesses stay, and there is a possibility that they will interfere with the witnesses.
“The motor vehicle was already stripped, and that in itself is an attempt to destroy evidence,” said Moloto.
Previous offences
Police are awaiting fingerprint results to verify if Moswane, Sive, Dlamini and Mphahlele have previous convictions or pending cases.
He said there is a case of possession of stolen goods (car parts) that was opened against Xaba in February at Doornkop police station.
Hlomikhawu was found guilty of residential burglary in 2011 and sentenced to five years imprisonment.
He was also found guilty of residential burglary in a 2014 case and sentenced to six years of imprisonment. Four years of the sentence were suspended for five years, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Moloto said Hlomikhawu was found guilty of malicious damage to property in another 2014 case and sentenced to two months of imprisonment with the choice to pay a R2 000 fine.
Sive, a Mozambican, has a temporary residence permit that expired in 2020, therefore, he is in the country illegally.
Moloto asked to testify
Magistrate Delise Smith told Temeki that Moloto should come to court so that he can give more information about the “hiding place” where the suspects were arrested and divulge more information on Xaba’s possession of stolen goods case.
Smith postponed the matter to May 7 for Moloto to testify. The suspects remain in custody.
Fleurs was shot and killed four weeks ago during a hijacking at the Shell petrol station at the Constantia service centre in Florida, Roodepoort, Johannesburg.
