The man charged with the murder of ANC Youth League regional secretary Oscar Dondashe appeared in front of a hostile crowd in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
The man charged with the murder of ANC Youth League regional secretary Oscar Dondashe appeared in front of a hostile crowd in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Local ANC leaders and members packed the Reception Court where Zolani “Nziki” Myeki appeared on a charge of murder. Myeki was allegedly among a gang of armed robbers who attacked Dondashe in V Street in Tantyi on Sunday morning. The 24-year-old politician was shot dead and his cellphone was taken. He was apparently on his way home from Dinangwe, a Tantyi Location tavern, when he was attacked. The home of the well known ANCYL leader is in Phumlani Location, Joza.
According to police, the attackers asked Dondashe to hand over his cellphone. “The deceased resisted handing over his cellphone and one of the suspects pulled out a gun and shot him dead on the spot,” said police spokesperson Captain Ndivelafhi Mamuthubi.
Police said this week that four suspects were arrested in connection with the case. However, the dread locked Myeki was the only one who appeared in court on Tuesday, with ANC members baying for his blood. Magistrate Ivan Ristow read Myeki his constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent, and then postponed the case until Tuesday next week (21 July), for a formal bail application.
The investigating officer Inspector Zukile Mpiyane indicated that the state would oppose bail, much to the approval of Dondashe’s fellow comrades who filled the court.
The ANC members had earlier gathered outside the court, carrying placards and venting their anger at Dondashe’s attackers. Some of the placards read: "Release him on bail, so that the community can deal with him."
