A 31-year-old man from Sherwood in Durban has brought former senior State prosecutor, advocate Bheki Manyathi, to defend him in his double murder trial of two young women, whom he allegedly shot in August last year.
Some of his colleagues were shocked to see Manyathi as defence counsel at the Durban High Court.
Manyathi is a prosecutor in the corruption case of the former speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula.
However, it is not clear if he will continue to prosecute Mapisa-Nqakula’s case.
Furthermore, Manyathi was an evidence leader at the Moerane Commission of Inquiry into the killings of political office bearers in KwaZulu-Natal, which began in 2016.
This commission led to the formation of the national political task team.
Earlier this week, Manyathi told the high court that he would need a week to familiarise himself with the case of Lungani Mthethwa, who is charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of murder of best friends Zizipho Philile Gabisa and Anele Mbokazi.
Mbokazi was a nurse at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital, and Gabisa was a pharmacist at a private hospital in uMhlanga.
The State is alleging that Mthethwa and his friend, Sandile Alex Chili, met the friends at a traditional function sometime before August 26 and exchanged cellphone numbers.
On August 26, Mthethwa and Chili went to fetch Gabisa and Mbokazi with Mthethwa’s Mercedes-Benz at Waterloo for a night out. They all went to various places and consumed food and alcohol that afternoon until the evening when Mthethwa booked a room at the Royal Hotel in Durban. They all occupied that room.
“At some point that evening, Gabisa no longer felt comfortable and requested that she be taken home. This offended Mthethwa, who felt ‘used’ by Gabisa after they had enjoyed his hospitality and she now wanted to return to her boyfriend,” the State said.
Because Mthethwa was offended, he drove to a remote uninhabited area near the Sewage Treatment Works in the vicinity of Johana Road and shot each victim twice with his licensed firearm.
Mthethwa thereafter fled the area with Chili and threatened him not to disclose the shooting to anybody. He returned home to change the Mercedes and drove Chili in a VW Golf.
Mthethwa and Chili were both arrested, however, Chili turned State witness. The matter will continue on February 27.