The cousin of ANC veteran Zibuse Mlaba who allegedly paid R130 000 for his murder abandoned his bail application on Monday at the Camperdown Magistrates Court.
Duncan Patrick Mzamo Mlaba (63), known as Mzamo, was arrested earlier this month for the murder of Mlaba. Mlaba was a former chief of the KwaXimba area in Camperdown.
Mlaba was once a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, he was also a provincial deputy chairperson of the ANC.
Mzamo’s arrest came after his accomplice Fortune Dlamini pleaded guilty to killing Mlaba and implicated him as the hit order.
“In a meeting, he told Nhlanhla Hlongwa, Mncedisi Gwala, and myself that he wants Mlaba dead. He agreed to pay R130 000 for Mlaba’s killing,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini also said that the two firearms used to kill Mlaba, were bought by Mzamo for R10 000 each from the hitmen.
Mzamo made his first court appearance at uMlazi Magistrates court for the murder of Gwala on Friday 11 April. Gwala was identified as the hitman who shot and killed Mlaba at Wareing Shopping Center outside his office on October 21, 2021.
According to Dlamini, Mzamo instructed him to find hitmen and have Gwala killed after they learned that the police collected DNA at the crime scene where Mlaba was killed.
Attorney Abdul Karrim who was standing in for Arvina Harricharan Mzamo’s lawyer told the Camperdown court that they want to have both these matters consolidated. He said that they wanted to see if there were any new charges that the State would add.
Magistrate SB Ngcobo asked if they were abandoning bail. “That is correct, your worship,” Karrim replied.
The State prosecutor advocate Nokulunga Ngcobo said they would not be objecting. She asked for a short adjournment to call the lead prosecutor to confirm if Mzamo would be joining his co-accused in the regional court and on which date.
The lead prosecutor in this matter is senior State prosecutor advocate Elvis Gcweka. Gcweka is also a prosecutor in the murder cases of South African rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes and chef Tebello 'Tibz' Motsoane.
Magistrate Ngcobo granted her the adjournments. After a few minutes, the court proceeded and Adv Ngcobo told the court that Mzamo would be making his first appearance at the Camperdown Regional Court in May. He would be joined with his co-accused Mthobisi Tsebang Dubazana and Hlongwa, for their pre-trial conference.
The courtroom was full of Mlaba family members who were in support of the ANC veteran, and for the first time, Mzamo looked at them and waved in greeting. They also responded by nodding their heads.
Outside court it was a hive of activity, with a lot of cars parked and men standing outside to support Mzamo. They were identified as uMkhonto weSizwe Party members however, they did not wear the regalia but some wore hats that had the political party logo.
Amongst them was the MKP member of the legislature Musa Mkhize. Mkhize said he had come to court to support Mzamo as his friend.
“Mzamo is an elder and from the royal family and so is the late Chief Mlaba. We are here to make sure that justice is served, for those who lost Mlaba. We also want justice for Mzamo to not be wrongfully arrested,” he said.
Mkhize said he is close with the Mlaba family and had a good relationship with the former chief. He said his friend is innocent until proven guilty.
“We feel that there is a lot more to this,” he said.