After spending a month behind bars, the men accused of murdering Thembeni Mnguni (29) and Wanda Mahlangu (21) finally applied for bail.
The bail proceedings were held at the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Reinhardt Steyn, Chriswell Dumisani Masilela, and Dumisani Luthuli applied for bail, while Stephan Wilson, a Malawian national, made a brief appearance to inform the court that he would be abandoning his bail application.
Wilson was recently sentenced by the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court for contravening the Immigration Act.
He will serve a 10-month sentence at the Paxton Correctional Centre in eMalahleni.
The men are accused of assault, murder, kidnapping, and malicious damage to property.
On Thursday, a premeditated murder charge was added.
They allegedly assaulted, killed, and set fire to Mnguni and Mahlangu on a farm in Elandslaagte, where Steyn resides, between August 23–25.
A few days later, two burnt bodies and a burnt-out Citi Golf were found.
The bodies were discovered in a large woven polypropylene bag underneath a bridge on the Van Dyksdrift road, while the Citi Golf was found 20km from the bridge.
On Thursday, the defence attorneys, Katlego Dolamo, representing Masilela and Luthuli, and Advocate WS Jungbludt, representing
Steyn, read the affidavits of their clients, and the investigation officer, Detective Captain Sipho Khumalo, took to the stand to testify.
The state opposed bail.
Detective Captain Sipho Khumalo’s testimony
The court gallery was filled with supporters of the victims’ families, who clung to their seats while Captain Khumalo explained to the court why the three accused should not be granted bail.
The police officer in court had to repeatedly warn the gallery against making outbursts as the captain spoke.
The court learned that the state had obtained a confession from Masilela and a pointing-out from Luthuli, which they believe are strong pieces of evidence.
Masilela and Luthuli, both security guards, were allegedly told by their boss to attend to Steyn’s farm.
Steyn is reportedly a client of their security company.
Captain Khumalo told the court that on August 24, a woman went to the Laersdrift Police Station to enquire if a man had brought in Mnguni.
The woman allegedly saw a severely assaulted Mnguni, with bloodstains, in the company of Steyn and five security guards, with his limbs tied with cable ties.
When she asked why they had tied him up, the men allegedly claimed that Mnguni and Mahlangu had stolen livestock from Steyn’s farm.
Mahlangu’s aunt also went to the police station to report that Steyn and five security guards had come to her house looking for Mahlangu, who was not there.
It is also alleged that the guards and Steyn went to Somaphepha, where Mahlangu frequently visited his girlfriend.
They found the girlfriend’s mother, who told them that Mahlangu and her daughter were not home.
She was allegedly told to call her daughter using Luthuli’s phone.
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When the girlfriend answered, some of the guards went looking for the couple, while one guard allegedly stayed behind, holding the woman at gunpoint to prevent her from warning her daughter.
It is alleged that the guards eventually found Mahlangu drinking.
When he saw them approaching, he tried to run, but they apprehended him.
Another witness told the police that the guards took the two men back to Steyn’s farm in the back of a bakkie.
According to the confession, the men were further assaulted.
Captain Khumalo said Masilela’s confession said while on the farm Steyn allegedly instructed his workers to prepare a fire in a drum to dispose of the bodies.
In his testimony, Captain Khumalo said one of the men tried to escape while in the burning drum but was forced back in.
After the fire, the men allegedly placed the bodies in a woven polypropylene bag, which was reportedly brought by a tractor driver on Steyn’s instruction.
The bodies were loaded into the back of a Citi Golf, which was then towed to the Van Dyksdrift road area, where it was set on fire.
The remains were dumped under the bridge.
The captain also revealed that DNA results had returned from the lab, positively identifying Mnguni, however, Mahlangu’s family needs to redo their test.
Captain Khumalo’s testimony was cut short due to time constraints, leading to the postponement of the hearing.
Affidavit of Steyn
Steyn’s attorney, Advocate WS Jungbludt, read his client’s statement, in which Steyn claimed that he neither owned the farm nor the livestock and had no reason to murder the two men.
He added he is a former Hoërskool Middelburg learner and that his mother, stepfather, and siblings live in Middelburg.
Steyn stated that he intends to deny the charges brought against him and he is not a flight risk and will adhere to bail conditions.
Affidavit of Masilela
Masilela, a father of five, works for a security company in Middelburg and lives in company housing in Extension 18.
He told the court that he distanced himself from the state’s confession and denied any involvement.
He also said he would not threaten anyone if granted bail and that he does not know any of the witnesses.
He was arrested in Doornkop and stated that Captain Khumalo had informed him of his intention to arrest him.
Affidavit of Luthuli’s
Luthuli also works for the same security company as Masilela and resides in Mineralia.
He said that he has two children and a girlfriend in KwaZulu-Natal.
He also denied that the signature on the police pointing-out statement was not his and denied all charges against him.
Community Reaction
The community has expressed a desire for the arrest of the other security guards mentioned in the detective’s statement, as well as the tractor driver, as they believe these individuals also played a role in the incident.
They also highlighted that, despite being mostly unemployed, they feel compelled to support the victims’ families, as incidents like this are common in farming communities.
• The matter was postponed to October 1 for further bail proceedings, during which Captain Khumalo is expected to continue his testimony.
@middelburgobserver Reinhardt Steyn, Chriswell Dumisani Masilela, and Dumisani Luthuli appeared in the Middelburg Magistrates Court on Thursday on charges of assault, murder, kidnapping, and malicious damage to property. A premeditated murder charge was added. They allegedly assaulted, burned, and killed Thembeni Mnguni and Wanda Mahlangu on a farm in Elandslaagte, where Steyn resides, between 23-25 August. #middelburgobserver #middelburgobserver
