Fort Hare murder accused said to have travelled to Durban a day after shooting

One of the accused inthe murder of a University of Fort Hare bodyguardtook a taxi home to Durban from Mthatha a day afterMboneli Veselewas shot near the home of the university vice-chancellor, the Bhisho High Court has heard. A loading list, filled in by long-distance passengers before a taxi departs, was admitted in court on Tuesday as evidence. The court heard that in it was the name of Mthobisi Khanyile, travelling from Mthatha to Durban, and that he was the first passenger to put his name on the list on January 7 2023.

Vesele, the bodyguard of university vice-chancellor Prof Sakhela Buhlungu, was gunned down in Dikeni on January 6. The court also heard that the name of Abonga Majali, a state witness currently under witness protection, also appeared on the loading list. Majali gave evidence on Monday that was damning to some of the accused in the case.

He was due to continue under cross-examination on Tuesday but was unwell and his testimony was postponed for medical treatment. Mlamli Mtirara, a state witness, testified that in 2023 he was working as a treasurer for a taxi association at one of the taxi ranks in Mthatha. Mtirara said passengers wrote their own names on the list.

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Under cross-examination, Mtirara said he was at the office when the list was filled in, but he left the book with people who knew how to complete it. “I’m sure of the accuracy of the completion of the document because they [passengers] were given instructions on how to fill it in.” Khanyile, along with Thamsanqa Mgwetyana, Zimele Chiliza, Nkosiyazi Maphumulo, Bafana Chiliza, Lindokuhle Manjati, Phelisa Nkonyeni and Isaac Plaatjies, is in the dock facing various charges relating to Fort Hare, including the murder of Vesele.

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