Lusikisiki Massacre Suspects Found With High Calibre Guns Opt for Bail, Case Postponed

• Two men arrested in Flagstaff in possession of high-calibre guns linked to the Lusikisiki shootings appeared in court
• Mawethu Nomdlembu and Zenande Paya made their first appearance in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court on 24 October
• The pair will next appear alongside Siphosoxolo Myekethe, Aphiwe Ndende, Lwando Antony Shakes, and Bonga Hintsa

LUSIKISIKI — The two men arrested in Flagstaff with high-calibre firearms linked to the Lusikisiki massacre of 18 people appeared in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 24 October 2024.

Police arrested Mawethu Nomdlembu and Zenande Paya on 17 October in Flagstaff, 43km from Lusikisiki.

2 Lusikisiki massacre suspects opt for bail

Police recovered three AK47s and a 243 Steyr Mannlicher rifle.

Nomdlembu, 36, and Paya, 38, made their first appearance in the Flagstaff Magistrate's Court on 18 October on four counts of unlawful possession of firearms and 82 live ammunition rounds.

The case was then remanded to 21 October for legal representation and later transferred to the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court for their latest appearance.

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To date, six suspects have been arrested for the shootings at Nyathi village in the Ngobozana area on 28 September.

Eighteen people were gunned down at two homesteads during preparations for a cleansing ceremony for the killing of a mother and her daughter last year.

Aphiwe "AP" Ndende, 25, Lwando Antony "Abi" Shakes, 31, and Bonga "Rico" Hintsa, 31, appeared in court on 18 October after the first arrested suspect, parolee Siphosoxolo Myekethe's earlier brief appearance on 15 October.

All of them, except Myekethe, temporarily abandoned their bail bids.

Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the prosecution would oppose bail after Nomdlembu and Paya expressed their intention to apply formally.

"They elected Legal Aid representation and, after indicating they wanted to apply for bail, the court postponed their case to 29 October.

"The prosecution will oppose their application," said Tyali.

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Along with the other four accused, they all face 18 murder charges, in addition to illegal possession of unlicensed firearms.

The Lusikisiki suspects will all appear in court on 26 November.

5 Killed as Bityi suspects arrested

In related news, Briefly News reported that five more people have been killed in the Eastern Cape in the latest mass shooting to rock the province.

The incident comes as police arrested two suspects on 22 October for the murders of a family in Bityi, near Mthatha, after opening fire on nine relatives, injuring a further two of the family's children four days earlier.

Source: Briefly News