Judgment in Mandla Msibi’s bail application to be handed down on Tuesday

Judgment in former Mpumalanga Agriculture MEC Mandla Msibi’s bail application is expected to be handed down on Tuesday next week.

Msibi and two co-accused are facing two counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The charges relate to an incident in which two people were killed and a third wounded in an (ANC) meeting in August.

Msibi is a former member of the ANC’s provincial executive committee.

Earlier, when defence Advocate Coert Jordaan was giving closing arguments in the bail application, he said that the state did not indicate its intention to oppose bail from the onset until the investigating officer testified.

He says the officer also failed to execute his duties because he affected an arrest seven weeks after the incident occurred.

Jordaan said the allegations against the accused have no substance.

On Wednesday, the court adjourned the bail application after a bomb scare at the court premises.

The video below reports on what happened on Wednesday:

Fired

On Tuesday, Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane fired Msibi after he handed himself over to police on Monday.

Mtshweni-Tsipane said, “I have decided, after consultation with the ANC leadership in the province, to release MEC Msibi from his position in the Provincial Executive Council with immediate effect. The decision to relieve MEC Msibi has been taken into consideration of the seriousness of the charges he is facing.”