Man who plotted to kill Zuma, Magashule and others found guilty

Elvis Ramosebudi, the man who sent letters in an attempt to fund an attempted plot to assassinate senior government officials, has been found guilty of two counts of attempting to incite to commit conspiracy to murder in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The state “managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused attempted to incite the employees to conspire and kill those people he had mentioned in his letters,” said Judge Collin Matshitse.

The accused, who was arrested in Midrand in April 2017, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday where he was convicted on two counts of attempting to incite and commit conspiracy murder.

Ramosebudi was initially facing two counts of incitement to commit murder, however, Matshitse convicted him on charges of attempting to incite to commit conspiracy to murder.

Ramosebudi sent two letters in 2017, one to Anglo Platinum and one to businessman Ajay Gupta, asking for his assassination plots to be funded.

Ramosebudi reportedly wanted Anglo Platinum to give him money in return for assassinating several officials implicated in state capture, including former president Jacob Zuma, his son, Duduzane, members of the Gupta family, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, former Eskom boss Brian Molefe, South African Airways board chairperson Dudu Myeni, former Eskom chairperson Ben Ngubane, former head of the National Prosecuting Authority Shaun Abrahams and former finance minister and cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Des van Rooyen.

He then also wrote to Gupta, asking for money to assassinate people supporting “white monopoly capital”.

Those mentioned in this letter included deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, former public protector Thuli Madonsela, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor and former GCIS CEO Themba Maseko.

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