By Levy Masiteng
The bail hearing for Thabani Goodwill Ntshalintshali, accused of murdering Ekurhuleni’s group divisional head for corporate and forensic audits, Mpho Mafole, has been postponed to 31 October.
Ntshalintshali appeared at the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
According to reports, Ntshalintshali’s lawyer, Advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, read out his bail affidavit and said his client was asleep with his girlfriend when police arrived at her home in Etwatwa, Daveyton.
Mlotshwa said his client had fully cooperated with police while they searched the premises, and that no incriminating evidence had been found.
But state prosecutor Advocate Takalani Mukhumo disputed this version of events, alleging that Ntshalintshali was arrested while driving a taxi, not at his girlfriend’s home.
Mukhumo also said that investigators had linked Ntshalintshali to the murder through surveillance footage and hotel records, which showed him following Mafole’s vehicle on the day of the murder.
The state said they opposed bail because there is strong evidence against Ntshalintshali and concerns that he poses a threat to the community.
Mukhumo said that Ntshalintshali was already out on bail for a separate murder case when the killing of Mafole took place.
The court granted the defence’s request for a postponement to allow them to respond to the state’s submissions.
Outside the court, Mafole’s father, Kiki, told journalists: “I am heartbroken – my son was gunned down in a hail of bullets. His mother is struggling to cope. She cries constantly and keeps talking about him. When I arrived at the scene, blood was splattered across the windscreen. I’m devastated by the way my son was taken from us. All we want is justice.”
As reported by City Press, Mafole was killed just weeks after he started an audit into electricity accounts. These allegedly manipulated and deleted electricity accounts are believed to be central to the revenue loss of more than R2 billion at the metro.
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