‘Seven Angels’ pair appear in court

24 May 2018 - 12:27
By Sikho Ntshobane
Banele Mancoba of Angels Ministries  tells the  CRL rights commission's hearing in Port Elizabeth that SA schools have been taken over by the devil.
Image: Eugene Coetzee Banele Mancoba of Angels Ministries tells the CRL rights commission's hearing in Port Elizabeth that SA schools have been taken over by the devil.

Thirty-year-old Banele Mancoba and his brother Ephraim‚ 23‚ who are part of the controversial "Seven Angels"‚ briefly appeared in the Ngcobo Magistrate's Court alongside their 10 co-accused on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The other suspects are Siphenathi Mafikwana‚ Nyameko Gemi‚ Anelani Nobetha‚ Luxolo Sixolo‚ Thulani Mrwetyana‚ Lwandiso Phosa‚ Zuko Makhephula‚ Loyiso Buhlungu‚ Mawande Jijingubo and Zukile Nkanunu.

However the case was postponed to June 25 after state prosecutor Sikhona Ndika told magistrate Thobile Bara that police investigations into the case were not yet completed.

The 12 suspects are accused of conspiring to rob a fuel depot in Ngcobo late last year.

Banele also appeared before Bara on a charge of rape but was told that this case would also be postponed to June 25.

The two Mancobas gained infamy earlier this year after police raided their controversial Angels Ministry Church in Nyanga village‚ following the ruthless killing of five police members and an off-duty police member.

Three of the so-called Seven Angels‚ Thandazile‚ Xolisa and Philile were killed in a gun battle with the police which saw seven people dead in total.

Phuthumile and five other church members were subsequently charged with the murders of the five police members.