THEY lashed out at King Simphiwe Erick Zuma’s act of not disclosing in court that the taxi he said he had just sold belonged to the brother of the bull whose name he did not mention when he confessed to murdering those he was arrested for.
The chief prosecutor, Advocate Elvis Gcweka, said that the king showed disloyalty by not telling the court who he sold his taxi to.
He said this while the king continued to apply for bail in the case of the murder of Mr. Xolani Ntombela/Ndlovu at the District Court in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.
It turns out that the taxi that was said to be sold belongs to the younger brother of the bull who confessed to two murders and was arrested with the king.
Thabo Mathonsi Chonco confessed to the murder of Ntombela and the murder of the former prime minister of KwaNxamalala, Mr. Qalokunye Zuma.
Chonco was sentenced to 20 years in both cases, he did not include the king’s name when he pleaded guilty but said that they were sent by the chief who became a State witness, Mr. Zwelithini Buthelezi.
On Tuesday, Chonco is expected to confess to the crime of murdering the former DA councilor in Mngeni Municipality, Mr. Nhlalayenza Ndlovu, for which he was arrested along with the king.
In this case too, it is expected that he will not reveal the king’s name.
The king told the court that he recently sold his taxi because he is facing financial problems as he is in prison.
In the affidavit, the king did not say who he sold the taxi to.
Gcweka said they found out that the taxi now belongs to Chonco’s younger brother, Mr. TA Chonco.
“He shows dishonesty by not revealing who the car belongs to.”
The king’s lawyer, Advocate Wesley Matthews, said the king did not know the details of the sale of the car.
Gweka rejected the king’s bail request.
Gcweka said the king had failed to present serious reasons why he should be granted bail.
“What he is saying is that he has a family, he is a king, his taxis are not doing well since he is in prison and that his health condition is not good. We have said before that the law allows the appointment of another person to take over the throne as the king is imprisoned. The king has been in prison for many months, there is no evidence that the work of the nation has stopped as he is imprisoned. In the case that his taxis are not doing well, the Court of Appeal rejected the bail request of a person who gave a reason similar to this.”
The court will issue its decision on July 14.
Even if the king gets bail in this case, he will continue to live in the shorts as he was denied bail in the case of Ndlovu’s murder.
The king’s lawyers have repeatedly expressed in court that they want to file an urgent application in the high court where they will challenge the cancellation of the bail.
Gweka accused the king’s lawyers of threatening a dead snake.
“It’s been almost a year now and we keep being told that they will file an application to challenge the annulment of the bail. Until today, we have not received their documents applying to the court.”