One of five men accused of being contract killers in different parts of the province yesterday told the court he did not know where Fort Beaufort was.Thabiso Mini is on trial in the East London High Court, accused of being hired with four other accused as hitmen in Mdantsane, King William’s Town and Fort Beaufort in 2010.
Mini, with Vuyani Sibanda, Isaac Phiri, Sakhela Magasana and Makhaya Qwala, faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy to murder and robbery with aggravated circumstances.
Ntsikelelo Manani, a sixth accused, escaped from police custody in August 2012. After his rearrest in October 2012, he was found guilty of escaping and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He is to be tried separately.
Yesterday Mini told acting judge Robert Dilizo that he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him as he was being set up.
One crime alleged is the robbery of Fort Beaufort businessman Mshiceleli Ndita and his family during which Ndita was murdered and robbed of his Hemingways Casino winnings.
Mini said he was falsely accused because he did not even know where Fort Beaufort was and therefore could not have committed the crime. He further denied being part of a syndicate. He said he did not know how a gun belonging to Nditha was found in the area where he was arrested in George or how his fingerprints came to be there too.
Mini further testified that the only thing he knew about the Nditha family was that when Nditha’s daughter, Nasiphi, testified in court, she said she had recognised him from the crime scene because he was handsome.
The trial continues today — siyab@dispatch.co.za
Hitman accused claims he doesn’t know Ft Beaufort
Thabiso Mini is on trial in the East London High Court, accused of being hired with four other accused as hitmen in Mdantsane, King William’s Town and Fort Beaufort in 2010.
Mini, with Vuyani Sibanda, Isaac Phiri, Sakhela Magasana and Makhaya Qwala, faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy to murder and robbery with aggravated circumstances.
Ntsikelelo Manani, a sixth accused, escaped from police custody in August 2012. After his rearrest in October 2012, he was found guilty of escaping and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He is to be tried separately.
Yesterday Mini told acting judge Robert Dilizo that he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him as he was being set up.
One crime alleged is the robbery of Fort Beaufort businessman Mshiceleli Ndita and his family during which Ndita was murdered and robbed of his Hemingways Casino winnings.
Mini said he was falsely accused because he did not even know where Fort Beaufort was and therefore could not have committed the crime. He further denied being part of a syndicate. He said he did not know how a gun belonging to Nditha was found in the area where he was arrested in George or how his fingerprints came to be there too.
Mini further testified that the only thing he knew about the Nditha family was that when Nditha’s daughter, Nasiphi, testified in court, she said she had recognised him from the crime scene because he was handsome.
The trial continues today — siyab@dispatch.co.za
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