First, a few of the accused and their legal representatives were not in court either on time or not at all due to a communication error between the State prosecutor, Karla Brits, some of the accused’s lawyers and presiding Judge Mabisela. The reasons for the delay were:
• The change of the venue from the South Gauteng High Court to the Palm Ridge High Court.
• The number of times the case has been postponed since it was first heard in the South Gauteng High Court on April 24, 2019.
• A suggestion by one of the lawyers for the accused to have the case struck off the roll.
• The non-appearance of the main accused at the Palm Ridge High Court.
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Some of the lawyers complained that they had not been notified about the change of venue, giving that as the main reason why some of them were late. A suggestion by Brits to issue a warrant of arrest for the main accused was denied by Mabisela, who asked: “What if the poor chap is sitting at the South Gauteng High Court, waiting for the case to resume?”
Brits indicated to the judge that striking the case from the court roll would be grossly unfair to both families.
“Both the family of the man who was killed and the family of the woman who is accused of his murder want closure,” she said. She asked for the case to be continued, albeit on a new date. Both the State and the defence agreed that a further postponement of the case was a heavy financial burden for the accused.
Around midday on February 18, there was still disagreement between the prosecutor, the judge and the legal defence as to when the case should be postponed to. It was eventually agreed that the case will be postponed to April 3 in the Palm Ridge High Court.
The accused made their seventh appearance in court on February 17. Their case was last heard in the South Gauteng High Court on October 11, 2019. The accused are Morris Musa Magasela (45), Mzoshinga Zondo (48), Thulane Nxumalo (33), Michael Sanele Mphuthi (36), Bongani Lukhele (46), Ntombizodwa Dlamini (70) and Cordelia Velaphi Mogoerane (60).
The charges against an eighth accused, Bongiwe Lukhele, who was killed in a drive-by shooting, were withdrawn.
The allegations of murder against the wife of Thekiso Mogoerane, along with seven of her co-accused, reads like a crime thriller. The case has all the trappings of money, greed, family feuds, witchcraft, betrayal, hired hitmen and the alleged execution of an innocent man.
It is alleged that they conspired to murder the major-general inside the house he shared with Cordelia and their 25-year-old son in Birchleigh on the night of January 16, 2018. According to testimony previously placed on record in the case, police suspect the motive for the murder was money – specifically a large pension payout that had been partially paid out to the victim prior to his death.
During previous court appearances, the State’s version included information put forward by the investigating officer, Capt Robert Mathebula – a detective from Germiston Crime Detectives. He alleged that a drugged and unconscious Thekiso was strangled to death while slumped in a dazed stupor on a sofa in the lounge of the family home.
In addition to the victim’s wife and the allegedly hired killers, police believe more people were involved. These are described as a female witch doctor from Wattville and the female owner of the vehicle who transported the accused on that fateful night.
According to Mathebula, the 40-year-old female owner of the vehicle was later ambushed and executed during a drive-by shooting in Vosloorus in July 2019 almost 18 months after Thekiso was killed.
Despite the investigating officer opposing bail on October 11, 2019, all of the accused were granted bail.
According to Mathebula’s testimony, Thekiso became aware of the plot against him and took precautions to safeguard himself, but to no avail. Police believe the first attempt on his life was made by the witch doctor, who police believe was the first to be approached to help kill Thekiso.
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When the witch doctor’s muthi failed to end Thekiso’s life, he was reportedly left in a drugged state. This was when a second attempt on his life at the hands of two assassins reportedly took place. According to the SAPS, this failed and a third plan was set in motion by another team of killers summoned to complete the job.
Still reeling with grief after the death of Thekiso, his other family members have nothing but praise for the police investigators.
Thekiso is the eldest brother of Thelle Mogoerane, after whom the Vosloorus hospital was named. Born in the old Stirtonville location where Reiger Park now stands, Thekiso and his family, along with thousands of others, were forcibly removed and relocated to the present day Vosloorus under the Group Areas Act.
Thekiso and Cordelia met between 1984 and 1985 when she was about 25 and he was 28. Cordelia was a clerk at the Department of Education and Thekiso was a political activist and operative within the ANC. One of the major highlights of their relationship played out in dramatic fashion when the love-smitten couple made history in the country’s apartheid courts when, in 1988, they instituted an urgent application allowing them to marry just before the young political activist was convicted and sent to Robben Island to serve his time with other political prisoners.
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