THE murder case against Thabani Gwala (29) was postponed by the Rustenburg Magistrates Court on Monday, 20 November, for bail application to Monday, 4 December.
The 29-year-old is the second suspect to be linked to the murder of Ben Gumbi (49).
He was arrested on Thursday, 16 November, in Joburg in connection with the murder of the famous businessman.
High police presence monitored the court proceedings as Gwala and his co-accused, Sibongiseni Ngubane, who was denied bail in October, appeared in court.
Magistrate Tshenolo Mekgwe withdrew from handling the bail application proceedings.
She said she wanted another magistrate to handle accused two bail application to afford him a fair trial. According to Mekgwe, it's in the best interest of justice that another magistrate deal with it. No other reasons for the withdrawal were given.
Gwala’s arrest was made in collaborative efforts of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of the Hillbrow Tactical Response Team (TRT), Rustenburg Crime Intelligence and Rustenburg detectives.
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He was previously convicted of possession of a stolen car and released on parole.
Gumbi was gunned down by two men outside a restaurant in the Rustenburg CBD on Wednesday, 23 August.
The suspects fled the scene in a blue VW Polo and found a few minutes after the incident. This after they had abandoned the car at the Corner of Helen Joseph and Lourie streets.
Gumbi’s daughter, Pontsho Motaung, said they were happy to see progress in the case. She said they have hope in the justice system.
“We appreciate efforts made to make sure that our father’s killers are found and that they will expose the real culprit.”
The accused will remain in jail until their next court appearance on Monday, 4 December.
