Gangster/Murderer/Rapist/Mutilator--All Were Afraid To Report Him

[bloodrayne]

'Stand In Line-Up Or Get 3 Years'

Nelspruit - A suspected gang leader who has refused to stand in a police line-up has been ordered to do so - or face a three-year jail sentence.

On Thursday, prosecutor Kobus van der Walt asked KaBokweni magistrate's court near White River, in Mpumalanga, to issue an order that Kholizwe Masina attend a police identity parade.

Van der Walt said: "His refusal to attend the identity parade has given the police a headache, and will only delay the trial."

In terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, if Masina fails to comply with the order, he faces a three-year jail sentence.

Hundreds of residents were crowded outside the court to oppose bail.

Masina, whose first name, Kholizwe, means "The Outcast", has been denied bail after threats on his life.

He's accused of five murders, one rape, and six armed robberies, all of which took place in the Pienaar area near Nelspruit between March and October.

No formal reports to police

Police have been unable to confirm rumors that he mutilated a man with a knife, forced patrons at a local tavern to strip naked and dance while he brandished the severed penis.

No one, not even the alleged victim, has ever formally reported the case to the police.

Masina, who was on parole from a previous armed robbery conviction, was arrested at Matsamo border gate on October 8 on his way to consult a sangoma in Swaziland.

Three co-accused in the rape and murder of one of the victims, 21-year-old waitress Rachel Maseko, appeared with him on Thursday.

Taxi drivers hunted down three accused

Maseko, who worked at a restaurant at Riverside Mall in Nelspruit, was raped and killed minutes after getting off a taxi in front of her home in Daantjie.

Taxi drivers banded together and hunted down Thabo Lubisi, 22, Linda Shabangu, 21, and Ali Mathebula 26.

They had to be taken to hospital after the vigilante arrests, but have been released since then.

They have yet to appear in a police line-up.

The case is due to resume on Thursday, when Masina and his co-accused are expected to have their own lawyers.