Four people were remanded in custody by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday following a shootout in the city in which a baby was shot dead on its mother’s back.
The magistrate ruled that it would not be in the interests of justice to release Fana Makhanya, Menzi Hlongwa and Phikani Ngidi on bail.
Ngidi has three murder charges and one attempted murder case pending against him.
The fourth accused, Siphamandla Gasela, abandoned his bail application.
Investigating officer Captain Timothy Mngomezulu said that the state withdrew the case against three other people who were arrested last year after investigations revealed that they were not involved in the crime.
Mngomezulu said Muhle Mazibuko, Laurent Alfonso and Bhezizwe Ndlovu were arrested when they were found in Makhanya’s company. ”After further investigations, we established that they were not involved,” he said.
They were arrested after a robbery that ended in a shootout between robbers and cash-in-transit guards. A 15-month-old baby, Khensani, was killed and seven others were wounded in the October 2006 incident.
On Thursday, the magistrate postponed the case to August 31 when a decision will be made on whether to transfer the matter to the high court for trial. — Sapa