Man accused of murder of Intercape bus driver case posponed

The case of the man accused of murdering 35-year-old Intercape bus driver, Bangikhaya Machana who was shot in April this year, has been postponed to 8 September for a bail application as his legal representative was not present in court.

28-year-old Unathi Sitsili briefly appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrates Court on Thursday and is charged with one count of murder and three of attempted murder. He was arrested by a team of SAPS Western Cape serious violent crime detectives in Klapmuts in the Cape Winelands last month.

The Western Cape’s Mobility MEC, Daylin Mitchell, attended Thursday’s court proceedings

“The targeted attacks on public transport operators are criminal and I want to see justice prevail. The arrest of this suspect is one step in the right direction and I am grateful for this breakthrough and progress made by SAPS in the investigation. I personally attended the court case today to reaffirm the Western Cape Government’s support to the South African Police Services in bringing criminals to book. We will track this case and many others in court and continue to follow up with SAPS until there is a successful conviction.

‘’I have a responsibility to ensure that commuters are transported in safety and dignity. Attacks on public transport operators put the safety and dignity of our people at risk. We refuse to be idle bystanders and will continue to connect the dots between cases in different clusters and even different provinces,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape’s Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC, Reagen Allen said the Western Cape Government activated court watching briefs to monitor court cases linked to attacks on public transport operators across the province.

“The appearance of a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting attacks on Intercape buses is but the first step in ensuring justice is served. As part of our whole of government approach in ensuring our commuters, and the public in general are safe, we have activated our court watching briefs unit to monitor this matter as it unfolds in court. It’s vital that there are no loopholes in this case, and the court watching briefs unit will provide feedback in this regard.

‘’No one has the right to hold our commuters, communities or sectors of our economy hostage for their own benefit. I once again would like to thank SAPS for the sterling job they did in tracing and apprehending this suspect. As court proceedings unfold, I trust that the judge will see the severity of the matter and deny bail should it be applied for,” added Allen.

 

Done By: Mitchum George