Mziwethemba Gwabeni, the man who the State alleges co-ordinated the hit on Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, has questioned why the man who paid him R800 000 has not been arrested.
The State alleges the R800 000 was paid for involvement in the murders.
Forbes and Motsoane were killed on Durban’s Florida Road last year.
The five accused were back in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday for the continuation of their bail application.
Gwabeni and Lindani Zenzele Ndimande were given an opportunity to respond to the allegations linking them to the murders contained in the affidavit of investigating officer Kumarasan Pillay.
In an affidavit read out to the court, Gwabeni said the State alleged that the R800 000 paid into his account was in payment for the hit.
He said the investigating officer’s affidavit states that when Mfundo Gcaba transferred the money to him, the reference “consult” was used to disguise the nature of the funds.
“If the State honestly believes this and if it had any evidence, not conjecture, then I would have expected that Mfundo Gcaba would have been arrested and would have been a co-accused,” said Gwabeni adding that the State has not given the court a reason why it has chosen not to arrest Gcaba.
The Gcaba family have said in a statement that the money was paid purely for business purposes and they were concerned why the authorities had not approached Mfundo Gcaba for his side of the story.
Gwabeni maintained that he was involved in the coal mining industry and consults with various parties.
“The reference accompanying the deposit of R800 000 into my account namely, ‘consult’ is corroboration of this fact,” he said.
The person who sends the money chooses the reference words when the payment is made, he added.
He put it to the court that the reason Gcaba has not been arrested is because the State has no evidence against him except for the payment for services rendered.
Gwabeni said the State has also not provided the court with his or Gcaba’s motive for the murders.
“The reason for this is simple and that is that neither of us are contract killers or wished to see them dead,” he said.
In addition, he said it was alleged that he was driving the grey BMW that was used to follow Forbes to his hotel and that he used a virtual banking card on his cellphone to pay for parking at the airport.
However, he said his employees and his two wives have access to the same account and virtual card.
The airport as a national keypoint has closed circuit cameras (CCTV), he said.
“Had I been the driver of the grey BMW on the day and time in question, I would have expected the State to state categorically that it has video of me driving the motor vehicle and following Forbes.”
The State was reliant on cell triangulation which places him in the vicinity of Florida Road and places applicants one, two and five in the vicinity of his home on February 11, 2023.
He denied that the three accused were at his home and could not recall his whereabouts on the day of the murders.
“It is my respectful submission that the State’s case, certainly against me, is founded wholly on circumstantial evidence and manufactured coincidence,” said Gwabeni.
Ndimande, in his affidavit, said the State’s evidence against him consisting of cellphone records and the fact that he received money was circumstantial and would be challenged in court.
“In the face of the lack of direct evidence against me, I submit that the State’s case will not stand up to proper scrutiny. For this reason, I submit that I have discharged the onus placed upon me and that I have proved exceptional circumstances which justify my release in the interest of justice,” he said.
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The case was adjourned until next month for arguments.
The Mercury