The e-hailing Partners Council (EPCO) of Johannesburg, South Africa has raised the alarm after it emerged that the alleged killer of an e-hailing driver, Nguquko ‘Gaza’ Dingani was not charged with murder during his case hearing. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Secretary General of the council, Melithemba Mnguni.
According to the council, the alleged killer, one Kwandokuhle Ngubani, who was arrested at Jabulani Hostel, Soweto on September 26, first appeared at the Protea Magistrate court on September 30 (Case number: Jabulani 280/09/2024). He subsequently appeared in court on October 7 for a bail application. But the council discovered, to its dismay, that Ngubani was not charged with murder but with possession of unlicensed firearms only.
“Unfortunately, Ngubani is only charged for unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Case number. The prosecutor was not aware of the murder case which led to his arrest until e-hailers and journalists brought the information to her attention. Upon been made aware, she asked for postponement for the case consolidation of the cases to take place. The case was consequently postponed to Monday, October 14,” the council said.
However, it does not seem like the murder charge would be included anytime soon, going by the council’s position. This is because the investigative officers are not keen to include the murder charge into the case, for a number of reasons.
The tragic murder of the e-hailing driver
The late driver, Nguquko Gaza was allegedly murdered while completing a ride. According to the EPCO, an association looking out for the interests of e-hailing drivers in Johannesburg, the suspect and an accomplice requested a ride on the Bolt app. The deceased honoured the request only to be directed to the Berea area where the criminals attacked him.
One of the assailants was reportedly caught on camera robbing the driver before shooting him at point-blank range. Following an outcry on social media, the Johannesburg Municipality intelligence unit, the Johannesburg Metro Police, and the South African Police Service swung into action, leading to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect who was in possession of unlicensed firearms. The accomplice is currently on the run according to reports.
Presently, the arrested suspect has applied for bail, a situation which has alarmed the e-hailing drivers. Aside from the suspect not being charged with murder, it also turned out his criminal record was not included in the case file. As such, the prosecutor has demanded that the investigative officer consolidate the cases.
The prosecutor further emphasized the importance of incriminating evidence such as the video recording, fingerprint, ballistic report, and cellphone location report to link the suspect to the murder. His criminal profile also needed to be provided to prove that he did not deserve to be granted bail. To this end, she asked the representatives to reach out to the Hillbrow police station for these materials.
Upon reaching out to the Hillbrow station, however, the IO said the suspect did not shoot the victim according to the video footage so he was only an accomplice. The IO also said that the video is not clear and even then, it cannot be used as evidence in court without the person who shot the video. As such, there is no real evidence yet linking the suspect to the murder which was why he was not charged for murder or robbery.
The IO affirmed that he was waiting for fingerprint report and when they come, will be included in the docket. As for the two cellphones found in the suspect’s possession, the IO said cellphone report cannot be obtained because the cellphones were switched off during the robbery. Moreover, the police have been unable to ascertain if the cell phones belong to him.
The police chiefs of both Hillbrow and Jubulani police divisions however said they will run the criminal profile of the alleged killer so that it can be included in the docket for the Monday bail application. They further said there is a need for reps to bring more material evidence such as witnesses and the person who made the video of the incident to have an airtight case.
The council, however, alleged that it has information suggesting that the police have identified Mr Ngubani’s accomplice and have information about his whereabouts. But for some unexplained reasons, they are yet to arrest him.
“There is information that suggests that police have identified the accomplice and alleged shooter and have information about his whereabouts. The accomplice was arrested for related crimes in 2016 and is linked to various crimes around the central business district. Looking at the above information, we are concerned that this case might not be well attended to as far as charges and evidence is concerned. We are considering organizing a petition against bail for the alleged murderer,” the statement reads.
The council also encourage e-hailing drivers and operators to attend court on Monday to demand justice for Gaza and prevent the suspect from getting bail only to commit more crimes.
See also: Bolt condemns murder of South African driver by rider, keeps mum over mandatory rider verification
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