The case against five suspected cash-in-transit robbers, who were arrested in Thohoyandou on 1 September this year, was postponed to 13 October for bail application and further investigation.
The suspects were arrested on the same day that a bloody shootout took place at a house in Eltivillas in Louis Trichardt. During this shoot-out, 19 people hiding inside the house were killed, while one police officer was injured.
The suspects, believed to have been responsible for several cash-in-transit heists in three provinces, appeared in the Vuwani Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, 3 October, for a bail application. The case was transferred from Vuwani to the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court after the State cited security issues.
The suspects, Asanda Maqhawu (33), Charity Phathutshedzo Makhwedzana (34), Ramabele Justice Peta (47), Vusimuzi Samuel Ramabekae (51), and traditional healer Sillo Shadrack Mposi (48), have been charged with possession of suspected stolen vehicles. Only Makhwedzana has been released on R1,500 bail.