Two of the seven men accused of murdering Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes and his friend Tebello 'Tibs' Motsoane made their second appearance at the Manzini Magistrates Court in Eswatini today. Brothers Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande appeared in court in connection to their extradition matter, which was postponed to next Tuesday.
EXTRADITION PROCESS NOT DONE
ESwatini State prosecutor Macebo Nxumalo told the court that the Eswatini police were given a directive by their South African counterparts to confiscate all relevant items that may have been used in the commission of the murders of the rapper and his celebrity chef friend. "Some certain exhibits were fetched from the respondents. As per the request from our colleagues in the South African Police Service, we have confiscated items such as cellphones, firearms and any other item that is suspected to be relevant in the commission of the offence," Nxumalo told the court. He explained that during the arrest almost two weeks ago, the accused were in possession of four cellphones. He added that they had not received any comprehensive documentation from Pietermaritzburg Magistrates Court relating to the extradition of the accused, which is causing delays.
STUCK
The defence of the accused, Sivesonke Ngwenya, previously said they don't know whether or not the extradition will be opposed by the state. " A lot happened in court today. We are still waiting for the application as I have been consistently highlighting to you that we have challenges in the absence of a comprehensive application. So, the director of public prosecutions made a statement in court today to say that they are also still waiting for the application. Therefore, we are struggling to move forward especially because there is also an outstanding affidavit which seeks to address the detention of the cellphones that were confiscated from the accused...for now we wait, "said Ngwenya, who added that the security was also an issue for him when it comes to the extradition process. "We need to consider how the accused will be handed over but we will have this conversation with our South African colleagues once they've furnished us with the relevant documents. They face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, among others," Ngwenya said.