The Lusikisiki massacre trial was postponed on Monday after one of the six accused failed to appear in court due to illness.
Bonga Hintsa, the fourth accused, was absent when proceedings resumed before judge Richard Brooks at the Mthatha high court sitting in Lusikisiki.
A medical note was handed to the court indicating a doctor had examined Hintsa on Monday and found him unfit to stand trial. His attorney, Zama Somahela, was in court.
Hintsa is one of six men facing 29 charges, including 19 counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
The other accused are Mzukisi Ndamase, 46, Siphosoxolo Myekethe, 45, Aphiwe “AP” Ndende, 25, Mawethu Nomdlembu, 36, and Songezo “Mashiya” Vuma, 21. All have pleaded not guilty.
The trial, which began in July 2025, is in its third week of a trial-within-a-trial after Hintsa, Myekethe and Ndende objected to the admissibility of their confession statements.
They allege the statements were obtained unlawfully, claiming they were assaulted, threatened with death and not informed of their constitutional rights. The state has denied the allegations, maintaining the confessions were made freely and voluntarily.
Vuma, the youngest accused, has admitted his role in the massacre and in the separate murder of ANC regional leader Mncedisi “Sincane” Gijana, but claimed he was forced into committing the crimes by Ndamase. He has not opposed the admission of his confession.
The Lusikisiki massacre took place on September 28 2024 at two neighbouring homesteads in Ngobozana Village where 18 people, mostly women, were fatally shot. A two-month-old baby was the only survivor. The child’s mother, who had survived a shooting in August 2023, was among those killed.
The state alleges Ndamase, who is serving a life sentence for murder and robbery, orchestrated the killings from Wellington Prison in Mthatha.
All six accused have been in custody since arrests in October 2024 and January 2025.
The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday.
Daily Dispatch
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