Murder accused cop used police database to plan assassination, court hears

Former Durban Central detective Bhekukwazi Mdweshu allegedly planned a hit on a witness who could implicate him and his peers in murder by using one of the South African Police Service (SAPS) databases to determine when the man would be appearing in court.

Mdweshu allegedly also preferred that hits he organised take place when he was on duty. Though police were tipped off about the witness’s murder, the man was still killed in broad daylight, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard.

“Normally, when a person was to be assaulted, [Mdweshu] wanted it done when he was on duty...By assault I am referring to the killing of an individual,” a witness, who may not be identified by court order, told the court.

The witness is a former long-time Glebelands Hostel resident and block committee member. He made the allegations when testifying in camera at the trial of the so-called “Glebelands Eight” on Wednesday 4 September, with his testimony carrying over to Thursday morning.

The Glebelands Eight tag has been used by the media to describe Mdweshu and his co-accused, who are charged with involvement in an extortion racket at the hostel that included murder and attempted murder in and outside the massive Umlazi-based complex, estimated to have more than 20,000 residents.

Mdweshu is alleged to have been the leader of the cabal, which he denies. All the accused pleaded not guilty to numerous charges at the start of the trial last week. The crimes are alleged to have taken place between 19 August 2014 and 26 March 2016.

The witness made statements in relation to count 10, but covered a lot more ground. Count 10 refers to the murder of Sipho Ndovela, for which Mdweshu, Vukani Mcobothi and Eugene Wonderboy Hlophe have been charged.

The witness also implicated Mcobothi and Ncomekile Ntshangase, Mdweshu’s cousin, in shootings, pointing them out in court.

Ndovela was shot in the head at the entrance to the Umlazi Magistrate’s Court in May 2015.

He was the only witness in the case against Sthembiso Mbanjwa, a known hitman, who had killed Fikile Siyephu, allegedly on orders from Mdweshu, as the men had “fallen out”.

Mdweshu believed Siyephu was sent to kill him on the orders of gang leader William Mthembu, according to the witness, and chased him from one of the hostel blocks.

The 48-year-old witness revealed on Thursday that Mdweshu had offered a sum of money to the first hitman who was able to kill Mthembu.

The witness has been in state protection since he made similar allegations against the former policeman, and others, at the Moerane Commission in 2017. Mdweshu’s name was not mentioned in the commission’s final report, with transcripts also being redacted.

The witness told the court he at first believed that as a “person of authority”, the then-detective would be beneficial to the hostel community as it grappled with the “selling” of bed space to persons not on official waiting lists.

Glebelands’ bed space – about four beds or more per room in the single quarter blocks – is in high demand by the poor or unemployed as the complex provides relatively easy access to potential jobs in Durban and the industrial basin.

Although employed by the police for nine years at the time of his arrest, Mdweshu kept two rooms at the hostel, one in the now infamous Block 52 and one in T-Block. He should not have qualified for social housing, which at hostels caters for those earning between R1,500 and R3,500 monthly.

The witness was a former secretary of Block 52, where he lived, reporting to a chairman. Each of the 80 or so huge blocks at the complex used to have individual committees. The committees would report to an overall structure known as the “Top 10”.

Mdweshu first became involved in the workings of the committees when he approached the witness to find out why his uncle’s room, also in Block 52, had been “sold”.

It was while investigating this allegation on behalf of Mdweshu, said the witness, that he thought Mdweshu could be utilised to stop the selling of bed space because he was a policeman.

It was also at this time that the former cop came to know how much money was collected via bona fide rental payments, as the witness collected the rent on behalf of his block.

Mdweshu appeared to be seduced by the potential for quick cash and started shaking down residents via “collections”, the witness said.

Extortion was rife at the complex, with two opposing gangs – the “Hlophe Gang” in control of Block 52 and older blocks, and the “Mthembu Gang” in control of Block R – vying for the spoils of collections. The state has alleged that Mdweshu led the Hlophe Gang, along with the now-deceased Bonga Hlophe.

“Usually when a person was to be killed, the people who picked [the hitmen] were [Mdweshu] and Bonga Hlophe,” the witness told the court.

“Bonga Hlophe used to stay in Block 51. Accused One [Mdweshu] took him to Block 52. Hlophe was a hitman, and Mdweshu brought him there so that he could have more power,” said the witness.

He also said money extorted from residents was used “for weapons and to pay off police”.

“Sergeant Cebekhulu [from Umlazi police station] was one of them. Accused One told me all of this, it is according to him,” said the witness.

“Mdweshu proposed residents pay R50 for people on guard [protection money] and for police for those with criminal offences,” said the witness.

“How many rooms are there in Block 52?” asked the State prosecutor, advocate Dorian Paver.

“Sixty-four rooms with four beds in each room, but if someone moved out, they preferred not to replace them as residents complained about congestion.”

“So was the R50 collected per room or per person?” asked Paver.

“Per person,” replied the witness.

Paver also asked why people had to be killed.

“Some didn’t want to contribute to monies collected. Some because they were in Mdweshu’s way of ruling the hostel,” replied the witness.

Continuing his testimony about the assassination of Ndovela, the witness said: “After some days, Mdweshu got a date on which [Ndovela] would return to court in Umlazi. He got it from the police computer.”

“How do you know?” asked Paver.

“I heard from [Mdweshu] as to when [Ndovela] would go to court. [The planning] was done in Accused One’s room at block 52. Accused One also mentioned we must make sure that people could be found to kill Ndovela while attending court,” said the witness.

“I then asked accused one how Ndovela would be killed in court as there were always armed police there. [Mdweshu] was stubborn and forced matters,” said the witness.

He said he was “surprised” when he heard via the radio that Ndovela had indeed been killed at court, as he had notified police of the plot.

“Before Ndovela was killed... I met with police from Umlazi police station at the Beach Hotel. They were Umlazi police detectives, but their offices were in Isipingo, I think. I knew [the officers as] Kain and Tsogo.”

The witness said the officers had called him numerous times to meet, although he didn’t know how they got his number.

“After they pleaded with me to meet, I availed myself. I tipped them off about what was going to happen at Umlazi court, according to what Accused One had told me.

“That’s why Ndovela arrived at court with police officers. What the police did, they dropped him off at court and did not wait [for him to finish his appearance and transport him back to where he was staying].”

Ndovela had just stepped out of the Umlazi Magistrate’s Court, where he was appearing on an unrelated attempted murder charge – allegedly fabricated, according to testimony heard at the Moerane Commission – when he was gunned down. He had been acquitted of the charge moments earlier.

Mxoleleni Bhani was sentenced in September 2017 for being the triggerman in the attack. Police minister at the time, Fikile Mbalula, said the SAPS were still looking for the “mastermind” behind the assassination. Mdweshu and some of his crew were arrested three months later.

The witness is set to continue his testimony on Monday. DM