Lusikisiki massacre trial delayed as court finalises investigations

The case against the eight men who were charged with murdering 18 people in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, has been postponed to next month for finalisation of investigations.

The Lusikisiki Regional Court scheduled the trial of the Lusikisiki mass shooting accused to start on Monday.

However, the addition of Songezo Vuma, the eighth accused, in January necessitated further investigations.

Mass shooting in Lusikisiki

The eight suspects were arrested after the shooting happened on 28 September 2024 at two neighbouring homesteads in Ngobozana Village near the town of Lusikisiki, where 18 relatives were killed.

During the accused’s court appearance on Monday, the court also heard that the judge that will oversee the case has also been made available by Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge.

The case will be transferred to the Mthatha High Court, which will sit in Lusikisiki as a Circuit Court. 

ALSO READ: ‘We’ll not allow criminals to prevail’: Ramaphosa says Lusikisiki shooting won’t go unpunished

Eight suspects arrested

Vuma appeared in court for the first time on 7 January after he was nabbed on a bus en route to Cape Town on 5 January.

The 20-year-old abandoned his bail, and the matter was transferred to the Lusikisiki Regional Court, where he joined seven other accused.

He joined Siphosoxolo Myekethe (45), Aphiwe “AP” Ndende (25), Lwando Antony Abi (33), and Bonga Hintsa (31), Zenande Paya (38), and Mawethu Nomdlembu (36), who have all since abandoned bail.

They are all facing 18 charges of murder and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. 

Paya and Nomdlwembu were arrested in Flagstaff on 17 October 2024 in possession of the four rifles and ammunition that were allegedly moved to other locations.

ALSO READ: ‘We know who we are looking for’: Suspect in police custody for questioning on Lusikisiki shooting

Two of the men, Ndende and Hintsa, were arrested in Port Shepstone, while Abi was apprehended in East London on Wednesday, 16 October 2024.

Police arrested Myekethe on 7 October 2024 at his home in Mthimde Location, Mamfengwini area, in the district of Lusikisiki.