I was seen as a hero and role model, Ndamase tells court

The alleged mastermind behind the Lusikisiki massacre stunned the Mthatha High Court on Monday by claiming the young men now standing trial alongside him regarded him as a hero and role model rather than a feared crime boss. Mzukisi Ndamase, 46, told the court sitting in Lusikisiki that his co-accused admired him so much that they were “happy to have met” him in prison and wanted to emulate him. “Each time they met me they were excited and wanted to be like me,” Ndamase said under cross-examination.

Questioned by advocate Velile Mgcotyelwa, attorney for co-accused Songezo “Mashiya” Vuma, 23, Ndamase rejected the state’s portrayal of him as the man who ran a criminal network from prison through fear and violence. Instead, he described his relationship with Vuma and the other accused as one built on friendship, admiration and respect. “They would narrate stories showing that they took me as their role model.

“So, he [Vuma] also came as a wannabe when he came to prison, narrating that he wanted to be like me,” Ndamase told the court. The state alleges Vuma acted as Ndamase’s right-hand man outside prison, co-ordinating criminal activities on his behalf while he served a life sentence at Wellington Prison in Mthatha. However, Vuma has since turned against Ndamase and, together with the other accused, maintains that the murders were carried out on Ndamase’s instructions.

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Mgcotyelwa pointed out that Vuma, who was born on January 18 2004, was only three years old when Ndamase was imprisoned in 2007 for murder and robbery. “By that time he knew nothing about your past history, your activities and how feared or respected you were by people inside and outside prison.

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