Johannesburg - Former Ukhozi FM DJ Ngizwe Mchunu has been remanded in custody until his bail hearing in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg next Wednesday.
Mchunu is accused of being among the instigators of the violence and looting that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last week.
Mthunzi Mhaga, the special director of public prosecutions in National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi’s office, would not give details of the allegations that Mchunu used a private jet to travel between the two provinces, because it forms part of the investigation and will have a bearing on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA’s) decision to oppose bail.
Video: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)
”I don’t want to comment on the issue of insurrection. We are confining ourselves with evidence that points to the commission of the offence of incitement to commit public violence,” Mhaga said.
“There are investigations that are at an advanced stage in respect of a number of instigators but, for now, according to law enforcement, they have arrested about six but those that have appeared in court… (are) four… including Mr Mchunu.”
Mhaga said information that would help the NPA oppose bail was outstanding.
He said the investigations had uncovered information pointing to Mchunu being a flight risk. The NPA needed the information to be able to make a determination on the extent of his bail bid being opposed.
”Evidence that we have relate to utterances that he made during the press conference that he held. In terms of masterminding it, I am not able to comment at this stage because there is a wide range of investigations that are conducted which might lead to more charges being added.”
He said the NPA was convinced that there was no dispute over the meaning of Mchunu’s rallying cry “ayikhale!”.
”We have accessed the video that was recorded during the press conference, we have had a translator of Zulu and we are convinced that the words that he used amount to the commission of an offence of incitement to commit public violence,” Mhaga said .
Former #FeesMustFall activist and spokesperson for Mchunu’s family, Bonginkosi Khanyile, said that the way in which the court had handled the matter had left them dumbfounded.
”And if the court is going to continue to deal with this matter we are very worried whether justice is going to be served,” he said.
Khanyile said that even if Mchunu had left in a private jet, he could not be seen as a flight risk as he had returned to Gauteng after hearing that the police were looking for him.
”We know Ngizwe Mchunu, he has never been scared, he is an innocent man,” he said.
Mchunu handed himself to the police on Monday and was transported to Gauteng to appear in court.
Political Bureau