The murder case against the widow of Avhatakali Netshisaulu (31) the son of City Press editor Mathatha Tsedu, and five men was postponed on Thursday in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court.
It was the first time all six co-accused had appeared in the dock together. The court was crowded and there was a strong police presence.
Their brief appearance was delayed because of the countrywide power cuts which left the underground holding cells without lights.
The court ordered all six to appear again on Friday for a bail application by Netshisaulu’s widow Mulalo Unity Sivhidzo (28).
They were also instructed to appear again on February 9 for a formal bail application by her co-accused Ntambudzeni Mutsenene (29) Sello Johannes Arnold (28) Rodney Makhura (32) Setshaba Fokane (36) and Mashudu Mutobvu (30).
Sivhidzo’s attorney, Anabela Jonker, requested copies of all statements made to the police by her client for purposes of the bail application. The request was opposed by the prosecution, but no ruling was made.
Netshisaulu (31) was found dead in the boot of his burnt car in Muldersdrift, north of Johannesburg, hours after going to visit a man about setting up a phone business on the night of December 7.
At Sivhidzo’s uncompleted bail application, the court heard that she allegedly hired Mutsenene to kill her husband as she stood to gain more financially from his death than a divorce.
The couple had been married less than a year.
Police said earlier that more suspects were sought. – Sapa