Despite having no solid evidence, the state eventually charged the five
accused with murder, obstruction of justice, and possession of an
unlicensed firearm and ammunition. According to the charge sheet, the
state’s main piece of evidence was a recording of Nokwanda’s
emergency call to 10111 after the shooting. ‘According to the recording
in the SAPS’ possession accused number 5 [Bongani] is being told to
stop, after which a shot goes off,’ read the charge sheet. If it were not
for this recording, the ‘true facts would never have come to light’, the
state maintained.
Nokwanda said that while she was on the line with the 10111
operator, she had frantically screamed and called out for her brother to
come and help her. She had also smacked Ngombane on his back a
couple of times to try to revive him. These were the sounds that could
be heard on the recording and which the state claimed were gunshots.
‘A Xhosa translator translated the recording of me and claimed that I
had told Bongani to stop, which was not the case,’ said Nokwanda.
The NPA’s decision to use the recording as its main piece of evidence
would prove to be a huge mistake. Not only was it insufficient to get a
conviction, but it also drew attention to the fact that the police’s probe
had the markings of a cover-up.
In March 2006 , the state again asked the court for a postponement
after having allegedly obtained ‘sensitive’ information that it said it
needed to follow up on. ‘The information is of an essential nature that
justifies further investigation,’ state prosecutor Andre du Toit told the
court.^21 A source with insight into the state’s case told me that Du Toit
was probably referring to a letter received from a prisoner who claimed
to have shot Ngombane.
According to later media reports, Bhekisa Andreas Sibisi, who was
nora
(Nora)
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