Cape Town - A group of Khayelitsha residents went up against public order police outside the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court in calling for the release of Yanga “Bara” Nyalara, who is charged with 18 counts of murder.
Residents described Nyalara as their “president” and said they wanted him released as they consider him a protector in their community.
Inside court, Nyalara appeared alongside Wandile Tofile and Manelisi Ngumla as a fourth accused, Lundi Zweni, was added to the charge sheet. Together they face 31 counts under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
On Tuesday, State advocate Mervyn Menigo requested a final postponement to serve the accused with an official high court indictment.
The four were represented by Phindile Vepile, who told the court that Zweni was now facing the same charges that were brought against him in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court, a matter that was struck from the roll in February.
Menigo, however, made it clear that those charges did not include the element of organised crime. Menigo said the investigation at the time was not concluded timeously but assured the court that whatever aspects were outstanding would be concluded by the next court session.
He said the outstanding cellphone evidence and a ballistic report would be finalised by November 4, when the State will serve the accused with a high court indictment.
Menigo further explained to the court that Nyalara was being held at Drakenstein, Tofile at Goodwood, while Zweni and Ngumla were being held at Pollsmoor prison. All four have abandoned bail.
Nyalara was arrested on a drug charge but the State has now indicated that it is not pursuing the investigation on those charges.
Outside court, police tried to control a crowd of Khayelitsha residents who claimed that Nyalara being held in custody had opened their community to further criminality.
Phila Ciko, 29, said: “We are here to support Yanga. As a community, we want to know why he was arrested because we are the people who need to know what he is doing because he lives with us. We don’t understand because he was the person who was protecting us.
“The time he lived in the community, everything was running smoothly. Now there are a lot of murders and robberies. As a community, the police have failed us numerous times, so we are here to tell the police, release Yanga; we are not afraid.”