Chaos erupted in the Sibasa Regional Court when Thabo Sibanze (28), who stands accused of intimidation in the murder case of the two SAMWU officials who were slain in 2019, made his appearance on Monday, 13 February.
Sibanze made his second appearance without his co-accused, the three Radzuma brothers, Ndivhuwo, Simon and Percy. The Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court acquitted Sibanze on the murder charge in October 2022.
Timpson Musetsho (50) and Ronald Mani (50) were gunned down in separate incidents in January 2019 for allegedly being too vocal about the illegal investments made in the liquidated VBS Mutual Bank.
On Monday, Court A was packed to capacity by SAMWU members from the Vhembe District Municipality. Sibanze made clear that he was not satisfied with the case's dragging on for so long. "My case is taking too long. I want a fair trial to start now. It has been almost five years now, and I'm kept in prison without a trial. It is not fair that my case keeps on getting postponed," he said after it was postponed again to 13 March for him to secure a legal representative.
Sibanze, an Eswatini national, was initially arrested for intimidation on 1 March 2019, after some of the SAMWU members and councillors had allegedly received threatening calls. He was also charged with violating the Immigration Act as he did not possess the necessary documents to be in the country.
Meanwhile, a pre-trial for the Radzuma brothers, who stand accused of Musetsho and Mani's murders, is scheduled to start from 20 to 24 March in the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou.