Alleged illegal mining kingpin denied bail
Eric Dumisani Moyo was found to be dishonest in his bail affidavit after he claimed that he was born in Welkom and attended both primary and high schools in the area.
One of the six alleged illegal mining kingpins Eric Dumisani Moyo has been denied bail and is set to remain behind bars.
This comes after his appearance on October 28 at the Oberholzer Magistrate’s Court in Carletonville which found him to have been dishonest in his bail application.
• Also read: One of six alleged illegal mining kingpins obtained SA ID fraudulently
Moyo had alleged through his bail affidavit that he was born in a Welkom hospital, four years before it opened its doors.
He also claimed to have attended both primary and high schools in the area – however this could not be confirmed – as there are no records of his attendance there.
His Identity Document (ID) is suspected to have been obtained fraudulently.
This saw a document being handed in from the Department of Home Affairs – to have his citizenship cancelled. Moyo is part of the group of six suspects who were arrested during a massive police operation in Khutsong and Carletonville on October 4.
During their second bail application on October 17, four of the six suspects had abandoned their bail application but are now singing a different tune. Bethuel Ngobeni, Nhlahla Leon Magwaca, Thabo Prince Sechele, and Moseki Sechele, informed the court through their legal representatives that they will be applying for bail
The other co-accused Khudzai Mashaya has opted to keep his stance and will not be applying for bail. The six are facing seven counts of unlawful dealing in precious metals, three counts of fraud and money laundering.
They have been accused of buying gold-bearing material from illegal miners, and subsequently processing and reselling it. Police seized 14 high-performance vehicles and a truck during their arrests.
The four will back in court on November 23 and 24 for their formal bail application.
