Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Mamelodi extortion and murder trial postponed after lawyer fails to appear

Published

Vusimusi Mthombeni and Thapelo Phaswane, accused of murder, extortion and kidnapping over events in Mamelodi East Ext 17 in 2023, appeared in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. The trial moved to Friday because Mthombeni's new lawyer did not appear.

Prosecutor David Molokomme told the court that Mthombeni's lawyer, named as Malope, could not be reached. Judge Papi Mosopa then postponed the matter. He said: "Your counsel is not reachable, so we will roll the matter to tomorrow."

The two men also face charges of robbery and malicious damage to property. The indictment says they terrorised residents of Mamelodi East Ext 17 and demanded money for services such as water and electricity. It says people who refused to pay were killed or had property damaged.

The state alleges that Nancy Maria Mokwena was dragged from her boyfriend's shack, hit with a spade and set alight in April 2023. It also alleges that Mthombeni assaulted Mpho Mogashoa with an electric cable in March 2023 and tried to extort R4,000 from him.

The state further alleges that Mthombeni threatened Elizabeth Ngwako and unlawfully obtained R4,000 in cash from her. The accused have not been convicted of any charge.

Key facts

Who
Vusimusi Mthombeni (accused, charged with murder, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and malicious…); Thapelo Phaswane (accused, charged with murder, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and malicious…); Nancy Maria Mokwena (woman allegedly burnt to death in April 2023); Mildren Phato (alleged kidnapping and assault victim)
What
Two men accused of extortion and murder in Mamelodi East Ext 17 in 2023 had their trial rolled over to Friday when Mthombeni's lawyer, identified as "Malope", did not appear in court.
When
22 October 2026
Where
Pretoria, Mamelodi East Ext 17, Mamelodi
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update