A 39-year-old prisoner at the Ncome prison near Vryheid claims to be the hit man in the murder of Free State official Noby Ngombane, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday.
Ngombane was shot dead at his home in Bloemfontein on March 22 2005. He was a senior official in Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff’s office and adviser to two former provincial premiers.
The man claims that while being held at the Barberton prison he was secretly released on March 21 2005 under the pretext that he was admitted to hospital. He was driven through the night to be introduced to Ngombane’s wife, Nokwanda, and her sister.
The prisoner claims that he shot Ngombane dead on the night of March 22 2005 after Nokwanda opened the door and gave the go-ahead, the report continued.
He also claims that he was promised R120 000 for the murder by Nokwanda, but never received the money.
The man is currently serving a 27-year sentence for murders committed in KwaZulu-Natal and other areas, the report said. He wants the case to go back to court to be heard again.
Nokwanda; her brother and sister, Bongani and Thandiswa; and two cousins, Vuyokazi Mlambo and Sephumle Booi, were arrested after the murder and faced charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. All charges were eventually withdrawn in September last year.
Andre du Toit, the acting director in the National Prosecuting Authority’s Bloemfontein office at the time, said: ”After consultation with the witnesses and further investigation, we came to the conclusion that there was no reasonable chance on a successful prosecution.” — Sapa