Masked men pretending to be police officers raided the home of former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, in Umzimkhulu in the dead of the night last November looking for the dossier he was going to use when opening a corruption case against two local politicians.
The incident happened shortly after one of the hitmen, Sibusiso Ncengwa, threatened to go public on how Magaqa was killed and who ordered the hit when he appeared in court on November 4 last year.
Sunday World can today exclusively reveal that Magaqa’s frail mother, Agnes Khethiwe Magaqa, got the shock of her life when a group of men wearing balaclavas but introducing themselves as police officers raided her house without any search warrant looking for documents that the former youth league leader might have hidden in the roof. The house was ransacked, and no such documents were found, but Magaqa’s mother was left traumatised and terrified.
The information was revealed to Sunday World by Thabiso Zulu, a family spokesperson and a bosom friend to Magaqa. Zulu said the shocking events had terrified Magaqa’s mother, who has been frail since the assassination of her son.
“She was also affected by the fact that sometime in November unknown people came to her house. They pointed firearms at her and tied her hands. They said they were looking for documents hidden in the roof of the house. But they later changed their story and said they wanted money,” said Zulu.
He further explained that Magaqa’s mother’s only hope was that all key players who masterminded the hit on her son would be exposed.
“The family has now pinned their hopes on Sbusiso Ncengwa, one of the hired hitmen, who has promised to spill the beans and tell the court what had transpired.
This includes senior political players who wanted Magaqa dead at all costs. Police top brass in the SAPS intelligence have also been fingered as having been part of the plot to eliminate the fearless former ANCYL secretary, who served under Julius Malema’s presidency during his tenure.
“You can see that Ncengwa comes across as someone who is desperate to tell his own side of the truth. We can only hope that he tells it all. Umama is quite frail; she’s complaining that she may even pass without knowing the whole truth,” said Zulu.
Magaqa’s mother was in tears on Wednesday when Ncengwa was prevented from exposing who ordered her son’s murder when he appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in connection with the shooting of the former youth league leader.
Ncengwa was forced to fire his legal aid lawyer after he failed to make sure that his explosive affidavit, giving details on how Magaqa was killed and who ordered the hit on him, was submitted in court as evidence.
Sunday World has previously reported that Ncengwa and crime intelligence operative, Bongani Mbanjwa, have revealed that Magaqa was killed with an AK-47 that was bought with money from SAPS slush funds. The getaway vehicle used on the day of the murder was also bought with cash from the same fund.
