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SIPHO SHONGWE FACED 13 COUNTS IN SA - ADVOCATE

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MBABANE – The extradition hearing of murder suspect Sipho Shongwe is set to kick off on April 20, 2018.


Shongwe was the first suspect to be arrested in connection with the public assassination of slain businessman Victor Gamedze, who was gunned down while at Ezulwini Galp Filling Station on January 14, 2018.
The extradition hearing date was set yesterday during a court session convened at Matsapha Maximum Prison, where he is currently being kept pending his trial.


Presiding over the matter was Manzini Principal Magistrate David Khumalo, while the murder suspect was represented by Lawyer, Ben J Simelane.


According to the extradition application filed by Advocate Elizabeth Leonard (nee Jordan), who is the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution for Gauteng, Pretoria Division of the High Court of South Africa, City Sipho Shongwe allegedly did not serve his sentences in full in the neighbouring country.


The application states that City Sipho Shongwe was arrested and slapped with 13 counts in South Africa and was found guilty in eight of the charges. He was acquitted and discharged in the other five counts.
Out of the eight charges he was found guilty of, two were allegedly of murder while one was a robbery charge, which goes with aggravating factors and the remaining five were attempted murder charges.


The application further stated that at the time of commission of the offence, the accused was allegedly serving a prison sentence in Barberton Maximum Prison and this was after he was convicted and sentenced twice to life imprisonment on March 1, 2001.


The claims in the application are to the effect that Shongwe allegedly escaped from Barberton Maximum Prison using forged documents, thus he is wanted for escaping from prison, forgery and uttering, which comes with a maximum fine of 10 years imprisonment.
However, Shongwe had already instructed his Lawyer Sipho Ben J Simelane to defend him in the extradition matter, which was supposed to be held yesterday. It was postponed to April 20, 2018.


During his recent bail appearance before Judge Sipho Nkosi, the court made it clear that the accused would not be granted bail if it was proven that his release from prison was fraudulent.


It is worth noting that there are three legal practitioners involved in defending Shongwe in his matter, Sipho Mnisi, who had since instructed South African Advocate Jacobus Lodewicus Coetzee Van Vuuren in the murder case and Ben J Simelane who is defending in the extradition matter.

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