18 May 2022
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it had withdrawn the case against 52 people accused of holding two minsters hostage last year as neither their identities nor individual acts could be proven.
To compound this, some of those held hostage were also not keen to proceed with the case.
The group had been accused of holding ministers Thandi Modise, Mondli Gungubele and deputy minister Thabang Makwetla hostage last October for close to three hours.
The NPA on Tuesday withdrew the case against the 52 accused without offering much explanation for the move.
The NPA also cited the manner in which the arrest was conducted, saying it “also complicated identification as everyone on the scene was arrested except for the hostages”.
News24 reported that a deal had been brokered by the ANC, but that it had left the likes of Makwetla baffled as to what had led to the withdrawal. He and the two ministers had submitted affidavits detailing their ordeal.
Source News24
