8th Lusikisiki Massacre Suspect Songezo Vuma Appears in Court, Abandons Bail

• The last Lusikisiki mass murder suspect, Songezo Vuma, appeared in court to face charges for the massacre
• Vuma and seven co-accused face 18 murders and illegal firearms and ammunition possession charges
• NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyal said in a statement to Briefly News that the case against Vuma was remanded
• A trial date of 17 February was set and will commence over two weeks in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court

LUSIKISIKI — The eighth suspect arrested for the mass murders in Nyathi village, Ngobozana, appeared in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court.

Songezo Vuma was apprehended on Sunday, 5 January 2025, when a Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit tracked him down at about 4pm in Qonce.

Evasive suspected Lusikisiki killer in court

He was arrested on a bus en route to Cape Town and formally charged before his court appearance on 7 January.

Vuma, after over three months on the run, joins seven co-accused who allegedly stormed two neighbouring homesteads in Lusikisiki and shot and killed 18 people in a bloody massacre on Saturday, 28 September 2024.

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During his brief appearance, Vuma abandoned his bail application.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, in a statement sent to Briefly News, said the case against him has been remanded.

Vuma, 20; Myekethe, 45; Aphiwe Ndende, 25; Lwando Antony Abi, 31; Bonga Hintsa, 31; Mawethu Nomdlembu, 36; Zenande Paya, 38; and Mzukisi Ndamase, 46, face additional charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

The state ordered further investigations into Vuma's case, setting a trial date of two weeks commencing on 17 February.

Briefly News reported that cops apprehended the first accused, parolee Myekethe, on 7 October at his home in Mthimde Location in the Mamfengwini area of Lusikisiki. Ndende and Hintsa were arrested in Port Shepstone on 16 October, while Abi was caught in East London the same day.

The arrests of Nomdlembu and Paya followed in Flagstaff on 17 October, with police teams recovering three AK47s and a 243 Steyr Mannlicher rifle.

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The guns are linked to the killings in which five others were injured.

Ndamase, the alleged orchestrator, was apprehended in prison, where he is serving a life sentence for murder and robbery.

Lusikisiki mastermind pleads to court

In related news, Briefly News reported that during an earlier appearance on 26 November, he asked the court to withdraw the 18 counts of murder against him because he'd been in prison since 2007.

"I would like for the 18 counts of murders I've been charged with to be withdrawn. I've been in prison since 2007 and have not been let out from the state facility once since then," he said.

The state declined his request, noting he would be prosecuted on all charges. The eight men have since abandoned bids for bail.

Source: Briefly News