Thulisile Mapongwana
Three suspects linked to the attempted murder of former acting judge, Camagu Maseti, were denied bail in the East London Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, while two others abandoned their bid for bail.
Magistrate Merwin Meyer said the state had a strong case against Sive and Sinovuyo Maseti, and their alleged getaway driver, Fikile Mtshemla.
The two brothers supposedly conspired to murder their uncle over a family feud that dates back to 2020.
Handing down their bail judgment, Magistrate Meyer said there was a likelihood they would further endanger the life of the 70-year-old attorney, who was in critical condition in the ICU in the city.
When the investigating officer, Sergeant Xolisa Tyheme opposed bail, he gave evidence that the motive behind the hit was that the brothers believed Maseti desecrated their father’s grave.
This after the attorney bypassed their wishes and laid a stone on his younger brother’s grave while his nephews suspected he had a hand in his death.
CCTV footage from across Maseti’s law firm in Vincent shows two assailants — one dressed in police uniform and another in a reflector vest — firing shots and riddling Maseti with eight bullet wounds.
The accused face up to 10 charges including conspiracy to commit murder and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, with a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
Mjali faces an additional charge of impersonating a police officer.
He and Shezi, the alleged shooters, abandoned their bids for bail on Monday, while 41-year-old Mtshemla is said to have driven the hitmen away from the scene in a silver Mercedes Benz belonging to his wife.
Tyheme said phone conversations on Mtshemla’s WhatsApp show that Sinovuyo forwarded him a photo of Maseti before the hit, while there is also correspondence from Mjali stating that he and Shezi “finished the job”.
The five suspects are due back in court on 16 April. They all expressed their intent to plead not guilty.
