Alleged illegal mining kingpins denied bail

The Carletonville magistrate’s court on Tuesday denied bail to four alleged illegal mining kingpins Bethuel Ngobeni, 38, Nhlahla Leon Magwaca, 26, Thabo Prince Sechele, 34, and Moseki Sechele, 28.

Their co-accused Dumisani Moyo was denied bail on October 27 and Khudzai Mashaya abandoned his bail application.

The six are facing seven counts of unlawfully dealing in precious metals, three counts of fraud and money laundering.

Four of the accused — Ngobeni, Magwaca, Moyo and Mashaya — are also facing four counts of being illegally in the country.

“It is alleged the six men ran an operation, where they illegally collected precious metals from disused and abandoned mines, processed and sold them. It is further alleged that with the proceeds they got from selling the unlawful metals, they bought properties using falsified names,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.

When applying for bail, both Ngobeni and Magwaca insisted they were South African citizens and that they both have emotional ties to the country.

“However, state witness Mothusi Letsogo from the department of home affairs told the court it was found that both Ngobeni and Magwaca had fraudulently acquired South African identity documents. It was further revealed that Ngobeni’s real name is Zingaiyi Dhliwayo and Magwaca’s real name is James Sigaoke.”

In his judgment, magistrate Seanokeng Diale said the Sechele brothers did not provide enough facts to prove how they managed to accumulate so much profit through an electrical appliance distribution business that Moseki Sechele owned because it appeared the business was dormant.

Diale also said it did not make sense why the properties belonging to Ngobeni and Magwaca were registered under their girlfriends’ names. He said this meant they were trying to hide the proceeds of the crimes committed.

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