Businessman charged with Bozwana murder

Pretoria - A businessman who was appearing in court on another matter has also been charged with the murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana.

The Pretoria businessman, who cannot be named for his own safety, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Wednesday on charges unrelated to the Bozwana matter. He was officially charged with the crime during that appearance.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said: "The man was officially charged with the murder of Wandile Bozwana and the attempted murder of Mpho Baloyi."

The man handed himself over to police last week on Wednesday for house breaking charges and was later linked to the Bozwana case.

Mulaudzi told News24 that the man was not initially wanted in connection with the murder, but investigations revealed he had a hand in the crime.

Bozwana died in hospital after being ambushed in what is believed to be a hit while he was a passenger in a yellow Renault Clio in October 2015.

Police said the Clio, driven by Bozwana’s female companion, was stationary at the traffic light on the N1 Garsfontein off-ramp when a BMW M3 pulled up next to them. A man jumped out and started pumping a hail of bullets into the businessman. The man jumped back into the BMW, which sped off.

The 43-year-old Bozwana was hit by at least nine bullets. His companion, who was hit by two, survived the attack.

Two men were arrested last year in connection with the murder. When arrested, the men were found in possession of semi-automatic and automatic rifles as well as ammunition. They were also charged for being in possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.

Additionally, they were found in possession of jammers and were charged for contravening the Electronic Communications Act, which makes the possession of the unlicensed devices illegal. They faced charges of murder, attempted murder, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

They appeared in court in December, when the matter was postponed to February 17 for further investigation.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the man had appeared for house robbery and the matter was postponed to Friday for the start of the trial.

"He was added on the Bozwana matter and he will appear with the two other accused on February 17," said Mfaku. . 

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.