Dube murder accused appear in court

The four men accused of the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Magistrate A Roux postponed the case to October 30 for their applications for legal aid to be processed.

The state opposed bail and the four, two of whom are Mozambicans, will remain in custody. They face charges of murder, attempted hijacking and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Roux raised his eyebrows and puckered his lips when he saw how crowded his courtroom was.

This was met by laughter from the gallery, which quickly faded as the four accused emerged from the holding cells.

Even some of the cleaners had taken time off work to watch.

One of the accused had covered his head with a towel and the others had hoods pulled over their faces. They removed these once they turned their backs to the gallery and faced the magistrate.

Singer Pat Sibeko, who was in Dube’s band in his early days, began sobbing as he looked at the accused and had to be comforted by a police officer.

Accused number two, speaking softly, expressed concerns that his appearance on October 30 would clash with his appearance in Heidelberg on November 27 in another case.

Roux said this would not pose a problem.

Three of the accused were of slight build and two of them had scars across their heads. The fourth man was larger and had a scar across his face.

When they returned to the cells, they covered their faces again—an action met by howls of protests from the public gallery. People demanded that they show their faces.

The four accused are Sifiso Mlanga and Julius Gxowa from Mozambique, Thabo Mafoping and Mbofi Mabe.

Meanwhile, Dube’s family said that members of the public and journalists would be welcome to attend his funeral at Farmers’ Hall in Newcastle on Sunday. They, however, wanted the burial to take place in private.

Dube was shot dead in a botched hijacking in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, last Thursday while dropping off his teenage son and daughter at a relative’s house.—Sapa