THURSDAY, 1.00PM:
FORMER African National Congress midleads leader Sifiso Nkabinde was acquitted on 16 charges of murder and two of incitement to murder in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
Even before his acquittal, rumours that he might be released — supported by comments from the judge on Wednesday condemning the police’s investigation — had the areas surrounding Richmond, Nkabinde’s home turf, in turmoil. There have been reports of residents leaving the area, of shots being fired and of intimidation of trial witnesses. Police threw a strong cordon around the court this morning in anticipation of the judgment.
Nkabinde was arrested at his Magoda home near Richmond last September. The charges against him related to the massacre of five ANC members in Isimozomeni, and five members of the Khumalo family in Kwandangezi near Pinetown last June.
But acquittal seemed a near inevitability after Judge Jan Combrinck on Wednesday delivered a scathing assessment of police conduct during their investigation of Nkabinde.
Suggesting that there is substance to the defence argument that Nkabinde was “railroaded”, Combrinck pointed out the illegal use of surveillance equipment in recording conversations between Nkabinde and his attorney, the irregular inclusion of a complainant and a major witness in the investigating team, as well as evidence that state witnesses had been schooled.
April
Link to the day
30 29 28 24 22 21 17 15 14 13 06 03 02 01
30