From high-profile political cases to the most heinous of crimes, down to seeking answers and justice, Eastern Cape courts had a busy year.
Some of the cases that made the mainstream media, such as the trial of EFF leader Julius Malema and his bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, were full of twists and turns.
Malema was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area or public place, reckless endangerment of people and property, and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to people or property.
Snyman faces charges of failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to people or property and providing a firearm or ammunition to someone not allowed to possess it.
In September, Malema launched an angry tirade from the dock of the East London Regional Court, accusing the presiding magistrate, Twanet Olivier, of being “always late”.
Malema’s rant came after the day’s proceedings were delayed due to load-shedding.
When the state closed its case, after calling 19 witnesses, Malema and Snyman’s legal team made an application for the case against them to be discharged.
In their application, they argued that the state had not been able to prove the charges against them.
The application was dismissed, paving the way for the defence to start its case.
Malema and Snyman also failed in their bid to have Olivier recuse herself in February 2023.
This was after she questioned a state witness, Samuel Kwata, about video footage, allegedly from the day in question, which triggered an outburst from Malema, who called for her recusal.
When the case resumes on January 23, their defence teams will continue with their closing arguments.
Another case that has been an emotional rollercoaster for all involved is the ongoing Enyobeni inquest held in the Mdantsane regional court to determine if anyone should be held criminally liable for the deaths of 21 young people at the tavern in Scenery Park more than two years ago.
After several postponements left the relatives of the 21 victims frustrated, the inquest finally started in 2024.
Some of the evidence presented so far in court painted a grim picture of what happened at the tavern that tragic day.
The inquest has heard how patrons were stacked on top of each other at the entrance.
Relatives were reduced to tears as a former employee, Thembisa Diko, testified that all the patrons she saw on the ground floor of the tavern were dead.
Some of the bodies were pinned under tables, Diko, who was the 10th witness to be called, told the court.
The court heard of a pale kidney, bleeding on the heart, swelling of the brain and bleeding in the stomach, the stampede, use of pepper spray in a confined environment and a delay to get first aid help were contributing factors to some of the victims’ deaths.
During an inspection in loco, some of the parents set foot in the establishment for the first time since their children’s lives were cut short.
“I could recognise the chairs here today from the pictures we saw where the children were lying dead, including where mine was,” a distraught Ntombizonke Mgangala said.
Mgangala’s 17-year-old niece, Sinothando, was one of the victims.
Parents and families of the victims are still yearning to know what killed their children.
The inquest will continue from March 31 to April 4.
After a spate of violence against University of Fort Hare (UFH) senior officials, including the attempted murders of the vice-chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu and his deputy, Renuka Vittal, a national task team finally made a breakthrough in the case when 10 people, including former employees and alleged hitmen, were arrested.
A total of 16 people, including top UFH officials, were arrested and charged with corruption, among other charges.
Zoleka Gantana, 56, and her shop assistant, Kholosa Mpunga, 27, were attacked by five armed men in Gantana’s spaza shop in East London on July 8 2023.
The two women were kidnapped and shot and killed — execution-style — on a farm in Peddie two days later.
Mandla Qosho, Themba Dingela and Siyanda Makeleni were apprehended shortly after the incident, while Sigagela Mgwatyu was only nabbed in January 2024.
In March, Qosho, 45, Makeleni, 50, and Mgwatyu, 53, pleaded guilty to various charges, while 50-year-old Dingela pleaded not guilty.
All three were sentenced by judge Ivana Bands, with Qosho handed an effective life imprisonment.
The judge ordered that all sentences for the other counts — the second one of murder, two of robbery with aggravating circumstances, two of kidnapping, one of unlawful possession of a firearm and one of unlawful possession of ammunition — would run concurrently with the one of murder.
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