Twin brothers, who have been accused of killing Jacob Khoaele, the regional manager of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), over a tender, were denied bail when they appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

The court found that the twins failed to provide exceptional circumstances warranting their release, while the State revealed that it was in possession of video footage of the shooting – evidence that will be led during the trial.  

The State has alleged that Khoaele was murdered after refusing to approve payment for work done by the Mchunu twins, which he deemed substandard. It was also revealed that a former PRASA manager had resigned over similar disputes with the brothers.

The brothers, Vukani and Vukile Mchunu, Sandile Sakhile Ngcobo, and Mthandeni Cele have been charged for Khoaele’s murder. While the Mchunu brothers applied for bail, their co accused Ngcobo and Cele abandoned their bid. 

Khoaele was shot dead on January 22, 2025, in La Lucia, while returning from his grandchild’s school meeting. The footage showed Khoaele’s vehicle being blocked on Shelbourne Road, as he was returning home. Police investigation also revealed that the Prasa manager was followed by a Hyundai Atos on that fateful day. 

According to the affidavit by investigating officer, Sergeant Nkosinathi Madonsela, which was read by Senior State Prosecutor Calvin Govender in court, the shooters began firing at Khoaele while still in their car, then exited and continued shooting.

The incident was captured on a nearby camera, Madonsela said.

“A Hyundai Atos was seen in video footage parked at Khoaele’s workplace. The same vehicle is seen leaving Khoaele’s workplace, goes to the nearby Sasol garage, and that is when the occupants are seen coming out of it. One goes inside the garage shop to buy airtime and drinks,” Madonsela said. 

He said after the garage trip, the Atos went back to Prasa and parked there. He said Khoaele left work at 9am and the car followed him.

“After some time, Khoaele is seen driving back to his work, and the suspects were still following him,” he added.

Madonsela said the suspects stayed at Prasa until Khoaele left at 4pm, and they followed him. He said near Durban Station, two vehicles, a brown Ford Ranger and a Red Toyota double cab, were seen joining the Atos. Madonsela said the car registrations of the vehicles were visible except for the Toyota.

He said the number plates on the Ranger was cloned  and the Atos belonged to a woman who said she used it as a Uber service. The woman, who has not been named, said the Atos was driven by Samkelo Shange. Shange was said to have implicated the accused.

When Shange was brought in for an interview, he told Madonsela that Ngcobo called him on January 21 in the afternoon and told him to fetch someone from Umlazi V-section the following morning. Shange said when he got to uMlazi, the twins were with three other people. He said Vukani got into the car and told him that they were going to Durban Station.

“When they got there, Vukani told him (Shange) that he was to check someone, and he wanted to see all the vehicles driving inside the Prasa office. Shange parked facing the gate,” Madonsela said. 

In their application for bail, the twins from Ngonyameni in uMlazi said they were 35 years old and co-owned Masoloma Trading company.

Their lawyer, Musawenkosi Mkhize, said the brothers were married – Vukani has six children and Vukile has five. Mkhize said the brothers also co-owned a property valued at R700,000 and cars, which included a Ford Ranger and a Mercedes-Benz.

He said the twins stated that they were breadwinners who earned approximately R35,000 a month.

Mkhize said his clients ran a business and that their employees had not been paid their salaries due to their incarceration. 

He added that the Mchunu’s were traditional healers who also ran a church and that bail should be granted because the State’s case against his clients were weak.

“How are the two applicants linked? The incident occurred around January this year. The number of months has lapsed, arrests were only made in July,” said Mkhize.

He said judging by the investigating officer’s affidavit, the State relied on a sole witness.

However, Magistrate Siyanda Mlaba asked Mkhize to elaborate on his clients “exceptional circumstances”, as what he presented did not qualify as such. 

Govender, said it was the onus of the applicants to prove that they have exceptional circumstances, and they have failed to do so.

He told the court that this was a bail application and that all the evidence would be led during the trial. 

He said the police wanted to ensure they had the right information before making an arrest. 

“That is why there was a delay,” said Govender. 

He submitted that the State was of the view that the twins would interfere with witnesses should they be released on bail. 

Govender said the previous manager at Prasa had to resign because of the brothers, who wanted to be paid for work that Prasa was not satisfied with. He said Khoale paid with his life because he also refused to pay the twins for work that Prasa was not happy with.

“Everyone at Prasa is afraid of the applicants due to the known fact that they threatened their colleague and killed the other,” Govender added. 

Delivering his ruling, Magistrate Mlaba said that bail was under Schedule 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

He said the accused were facing serious allegations, and emphasised that this was a bail application and not a trial. 

Mlaba criticised Mkhize, saying that while he spoke a lot, he failed to tell the court why his clients should get bail. 

“I remember asking him to hit the nail on the head. I even asked him the definition of exceptional circumstances. But the attorney was not giving what I was expecting. I ended up just keeping quiet,” he said. 

Govender said the Director of Public Prosecutions was yet to decide if Shange would be a Section 204 State witness. 

The matter was postponed to September 29 for further investigation.

 nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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