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IOL News
21 hours ago
- IOL News
14 more charges added, but ‘most wanted' is nowhere to be found
Vuyolwethi 'Yesu' Tshukela faces charges including murder, attempted murder, and extortion. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Media WHILE the State added a host of new criminal charges against Vuyolwethu 'Yesu' Tshukela, bringing the total to 18, the Athlone Magistrates' Court heard on Thursday that his exact whereabouts were temporarily unknown. Alleged taxi hitman, Tshukela, was arrested last month in Welkom in the Free State after months on the run, initially facing four charges. These included murder, attempted murder, and extortion. However, the State revealed on Thursday that after consulting with a senior advocate, 14 more charges were added. Among them are kidnapping, robbery, assault, intimidation, malicious injury to property, arson, and a second count of attempted murder, this time allegedly involving a security officer. Alleged taxi hitman, Vuyolwethu 'Yesu' Tshukela, failed to appear in the Athlone Magistrate's Court on Thursday. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers The State prosecutor told the court: 'Your Worship, the charge sheet at first appearance only reflected four charges. That has now changed to 14 additional charges being added after consultation with the State advocate.' Before proceedings began, court orderlies informed the State that Tshukela had not been brought to court. A police officer explained that when he went to Pollsmoor Correctional Facility in the morning, Tshukela was not there and had been moved the week before to another facility, due to safety concerns, but no one seemed to know which. 'The accused is not before the court, Your Worship. He wasn't brought from Pollsmoor this morning,' the prosecutor said. The State confirmed that arrangements had since been made with Pollsmoor officials to ensure the accused is present at his next scheduled appearance. The prosecutor added: 'Due to the higher risk posed by the accused, he is not kept at Pollsmoor. However, after speaking to the chief at Pollsmoor, arrangements have been made for him to be brought to court next time.' The court heard that Tshukela's legal representative had been consulted on Thursday morning and indicated that the accused would be abandoning his bail application. However, this could not be confirmed due to his absence. Magistrate Keith Le Keur expressed concern about Tshukela not being in court, highlighting the procedural importance of the accused being present. 'But the only reason he is not here must be in terms of Section 159(3)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Act, for example, if he were in hospital. There must be a medical certificate,' said Le Keur. 'Pollsmoor cannot simply decide to keep him there arbitrarily. Under normal circumstances, I would have postponed it to the next day to have him here and then roll the matter in his presence. The proceedings must happen in the presence of the accused.' The State asked that a J7 warrant be issued for Tshukela in absentia and for the matter to be remanded. 'Your Worship, a date has been arranged with Mr Ntsindane for July 18. The State requests that the matter be remanded to that date, for the accused to be before the court as well as his attorney.' The magistrate agreed and postponed the case to July 7. The accused will face all 18 charges, including two counts of attempted murder, robbery, arson, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and extortion. Cape Times
Daily Maverick
25-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
Alleged taxi hitman accused of wreaking havoc in Cape Town a flight risk — prosecutor
Taxi violence in Cape Town has been rife in recent years. An alleged hitman was recently arrested on charges of murder, attempted murder and extortion. An alleged taxi hitman, who faces one count of murder, attempted murder and two counts of extortion, is a flight risk and does not have a fixed address. The taxi-related charges date back to August 2024, and he had been on the run until he was apprehended on Friday, 13 June 2025. This was revealed during Mthatha-born alleged hitman Vuyolwethu Tshukela's second appearance in the Athlone Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 24 June. This is also the basis on which the State will oppose bail at his next appearance. The prosecutor, who does not want his name published for safety reasons, told Magistrate Keith le Kleur that the matter was on the roll for bail information and arranging legal representation for Tshukela. 'The State position is that the accused is facing a Schedule 6 charge, is a flight risk, has no fixed address, and the State will oppose his bail,' the prosecutor said. A lawyer appearing for Tshukela notified the court that he would officially be on board at the accused's next appearance on Thursday, 3 July. Tshukela, also known as 'Yesu', was on the Western Cape's most-wanted list, with a R100,000 reward offered for information leading to his arrest and successful conviction. Since early 2024, his name has been linked to a series of targeted killings, extortions and attacks in Philippi East, Delft and Nyanga. He was eventually arrested in Welkom, Free State, on Friday, 13 June, following a thorough investigation by Western Cape authorities. Ongoing shootings Despite his arrest, taxi violence continues unabated. On Monday, 23 June, two taxi-related incidents occurred in Samora Machel, Cape Town, and the Eastern Cape. An Eastern Cape taxi boss was among six people shot dead in a police shootout on the R61 outside Mthatha on Monday – part of an intelligence-driven crackdown on alleged extortionists linked to protection rackets. Yanga 'Bara' Nyalara and Wanda Tofile, alias Mampintsa, who were accused of an extortion-linked mass killing that claimed the lives of 12 people three years ago, and acquitted in August 2024, were killed along with six others in during a shootout with police in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape on Thursday, 21 February 2025. Meanwhile, Western Cape police are probing the circumstances of a shooting that occurred on Monday morning around 5:10am in Oliver Tambo Street, Samora Machel. Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said: 'According to reports, SAPS members attended to the complaint of a shooting incident and on their arrival [at] the crime scene at the mentioned address, they saw a white Quantum taxi, and found the body of the 40-year-old male lying on the pavement next to the driver's side of the vehicle. He had multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.' The victim was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel, and the motive for the shooting forms part of the police investigation. The attackers are still at large. Charges against alleged hitman Tshukela The prosecution says the charges against Tshukela stem from a pattern of violence allegedly tied to the taxi protection rackets. He has allegedly been paid to carry out atrocities and instil fear in the taxi industry since 2024. The murder count stems from an incident that occurred on 18 August 2024 at a meeting of taxi drivers. The State contends that Tshukela allegedly approached the group and fatally shot a driver in front of multiple eyewitnesses. The alleged extortion incident occurred on 17 September 2024. Tshuleka is accused of demanding payment from drivers and threatening to shoot anybody who did not comply. Some paid, but the complainant in the matter refused. The attempted murder incident happened on 9 February 2025 at the Nyanga taxi rank. The State contends that on the day in question, a group of people, including Tshukela, set fire to containers and taxis at the Nyanga taxi rank. Sixteen taxis were torched. Taxi patrollers pursued the group, which fled to an adjacent street, where Tshukela allegedly opened fire on them. Taxi patrollers at the police station later identified Tshukela as one of the shooters. Hunt still on for Mfuleni gunmen On Friday, 6 June 2025, at around 7am, all hell broke loose at the Mfuleni minibus taxi rank. Unknown gunmen stormed the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) office and indiscriminately opened fire. Four men were killed, and three, including an eight-year-old boy, were wounded. The shooting may have been precipitated by a dispute between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Associations (Cata) and Codeta over control of a taxi route connecting Mfuleni and Somerset West. Violence in the taxi industry in Cape Town appears to have spread to other areas. Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed the Western Cape Taxi Violence Unit, which forms part of Serious Violence Crime detectives, is investigating four murders and three attempted murders in connection with the Mfuleni shooting. Following the Mfuleni incident, Western Cape Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku said, 'We cannot allow criminality to take hold of our public transport spaces and threaten the safety of innocent commuters and workers. 'We must never become numb to this kind of violence. Violence in or around our transport hubs is not only unacceptable – it undermines our shared goal of providing safe, reliable and dignified mobility for all. Safe, reliable and affordable public transport is critical if we are to achieve our goals of driving economic growth and creating more jobs.' The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also lambasted criminal elements wreaking havoc in the taxi industry. Derryn Brigg, chamber deputy president, has called for cool heads to prevail. 'As far as we understand, the vast majority of stakeholders have had enough of the violence and seek a future where violence no longer exists, and where people can work without fear. 'Much work has gone into the formation of the Western Cape Taxi Cluster, a new umbrella organisation aimed at industry reform (a collaboration between the Cape Chamber and Santaco). We therefore appeal to all associations and their members to show restraint and resolve issues through constructive dialogue,' he said Ongoing violence, Brigg said, highlighted systemic failure within a vital transport sector in urgent need of reform. Provincial detectives have offered a R100,000 reward for anyone with information on the Mfuleni shooting. On Tuesday, 24 June, police spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyana said: 'The circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation. No arrests have been made as yet. The investigating officer is working tirelessly in a bid to apprehend the people behind this shooting incident.' DM
