State withdraws all charges against ex-Mpumalanga MEC Mandla Msibi, others

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has provisionally withdrawn all charges against former Mpumalanga agriculture MEC Mandla Msibi and his five co-accused.

Charges provisionally withdrawn

Msibi and his co-accused on Monday appeared briefly in the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Mbombela for the start of their trial, but were informed that the State had withdrawn the murder and attempted murder charges against them.

NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa confirmed that the charges were withdrawn due to outstanding information detected by the prosecution team, which the NPA felt it would not be in the interest of justice to proceed with the trial without it.

“We took the decision of provisionally withdrawing the charges against all accused pending the outcome of the outstanding information. Once that information has been obtained, then an informed decision will be taken,” Nyuswa told the media outside court.

She could not divulge the outstanding information or when it might be obtained by the prosecution, only stating that the information was sensitive and would be revealed during the trial.

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Msibi and his five co-accused – Joseph Charlie Ngwenya, Tsepo Eddie Matsane, Anele Sonke Mnisi, Njabulo Mkhonto and Sibusiso Vincent Mdhluli – faced two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The charges were in connection with a shooting incident in Mbombela on 22 August 2021, where two ANC members were shot and killed and another party member was injured.

The shooting incident is understood to be related to party infighting over the ANC’s candidate list processes ahead of last November’s local government elections.

All accused were out on bail after they were arrested last year.

ANC ‘step aside’ resolution

Msibi was a high-ranking member of the ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC) and head of elections for Mpumalanga, before he was fired from his job by Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane following his arrest.

He was later elected the treasurer of the ANC in Mpumalanga, at the party’s provincial conference in April, in Emalahleni.

However, Msibi had to step down from the position due to the ANC’s step-aside resolution that requires all party members facing serious allegations or criminal charges to step down pending the finalisation of their matters.

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