Africa-Press – South-Africa. When one of the accused in the murder of lawyer David Mbazwana was arrested, an unlicensed gun was found hidden under his pillow in Khayelitsha, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.
But Lonwabo Cosa denies this and says that he wasn’t even at the property where an Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) member claimed he was at.
Mbazwana was shot dead at his shack tavern, The White House, in an informal settlement in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, on 19 May 2019. He was rushed to hospital but was declared dead not soon after.
The accused are Sinethemba Makeleni, Anga Anganda Mabenjane, Cosa, Siyanda Ndzendze and Brian Balangile, and they have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
So far, two witnesses at the bar have testified, but their names are being kept secret for safety reasons.
An AGU officer, who did not want his name published for safety reasons, testified that he was part of a 10-strong contingent of police officers and detectives who went to an RDP house in Khayelitsha on 23 May because they had tracked a suspect to the house.
Officers positioned themselves in the front and back of the house, then announced their presence and broke the door to enter.
The officer said his job was apprehending a man who was sleeping in a bed, and the team was on high alert because they suspected there might be a gun in the house.
He woke the man up, put him on the ground and lifted the pillow and found a gun.
He made the gun safe and found that it contained 13 live rounds of ammunition. The serial number had been removed.
There was another man in the house, but the officer said he was focusing on that man and paid full attention to the suspect.
“When we work, if I have a suspect, I must make sure he is secured. There was a firearm involved,” he said, as he explained why he could not recall small details outside of the scope of what he was focused on.
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He asked the man if he had a firearm licence, and the man said no.
He was taken to a police station and told that he was a suspect in the murder of a lawyer, but for the time being, his charge was unlawful possession of a firearm.
He pointed out Cosa as the man he arrested.
Cosa’s lawyer said his client denied that a gun was found under his pillow, and said both men in the house were sleeping in the same bed because the second man was a temporary visitor.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
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