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Testimony at the Lusikisiki massacre trial has placed alleged mastermind Mzukisi Ndamase in possession of a cellphone police say was used to communicate with co-accused in the planning of the killing of 18 people in Ngobozana village and the murder of ANC councillor Mncedisi Gijana.
The cellphone number was not registered in Ndamase’s name, but investigators told the Mthatha High Court, sitting in Lusikisiki, that evidence linked both the handset and number to him.
Task team investigator Sergeant Bulelani Siko testified on Tuesday that a Huawei Y9 cellphone seized during the investigation was connected to the murders.
Though the SIM card was registered in another person’s name, Siko said information obtained from MTN, banking records and statements from several of Ndamase’s co-accused established that the number was being used by him.
“Mzukisi Ndamase had been using the number for six months and more and had been using it to phone people outside to organise crime, including the killing of 18 people in Ngobozana,” Siko testified.
“With no doubt, the lawful owner of the handset and the cellphone number is accused number one Mzukisi Ndamase.”
It is alleged Ndamase used the cellphone while serving a life sentence at Wellington Prison in Mthatha.
“It is the SIM card and the cellphone he used to organise the killing of 18 people in Ngobozana,” Siko said.
However, investigators were unable to recover WhatsApp messages, voice notes or other content from the device.
Siko told judge Richard Brooks that by the time the cellphone was seized from Ndamase’s prison cell it had been wiped clean, leaving investigators with only call and billing records.
The records allegedly showed communication between Ndamase and several co-accused as well as former accused linked to the case.
After prison authorities discovered the cellphone in Ndamase’s possession, he was transferred from Wellington Prison to East London and later to Ebongweni Super-Max Prison in Kokstad.
Siko said he arrested Ndamase at Ebongweni on October 29 2024.
“I arrested Mzukisi Ndamase in respect of 18 murders committed in Lusikisiki on September 28 2024,” he said.
The attack targeted two neighbouring homesteads belonging to members of the Sinqina family in Ngobozana village.
Gunmen opened fire in the early hours of the morning, killing 18 people — 15 women, two men and a 13-year-old boy.
Twenty-three people were at the homesteads at the time, including a two-month-old baby who survived.
A 19th murder charge relates to the killing of Gijana, 58, an ANC regional executive committee member and Umzimvubu Local Municipality councillor, who was shot dead at his Lubhacweni home in KwaBhaca in August 2024.
Under cross-examination by Ndamase, who is representing himself, Siko acknowledged that the RICA records contained the details of the person who registered the number, but said he had not interviewed that individual.
Ndamase also questioned Siko about previous testimony alleging that members of the Sinqina family were targeted because of alleged involvement in drug dealing or witchcraft.
Siko said he was aware of the allegations.
Earlier in the trial, investigating officer Sergeant Sibulele Mngcandubana testified that on the night Gijana was murdered, Ndamase called one of the accused more than 20 times within a matter of minutes.
Ndamase, 46, Aphiwe “AP” Ndende, 25, Siphosoxolo Myekethe, 45, Bonga “Rico” Hintsa, 31, Songezo “Mashiya” Vuma, 21, and Mawethu Nomdlembu, 36 — have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial continues, with the state expected to call an MTN representative to testify about cellphone billing records.
Daily Dispatch
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