A man with alleged links to a bloody taxi massacre in Colenso that left 12 men dead has been released on R1 000 bail after a brief appearance in the Durban Magistrate’s court on Monday.

The 35-year-old Sydenham man – who the court ordered not be named or photographed – was arrested in the days following the shooting.

He faces charges relating to the illegal possession of 73 AK47 bullets without a license.

Last month gunmen opened fire on a minibus taxi while it travelled on the R74 between the towns of Colenso and Weenen.

The taxi‚ ferrying drivers from the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand‚ Gauteng‚ was peppered by automatic gunfire as it returned from a funeral at Ematimatolo in central KwaZulu-Natal.

The court heard that the man was employed as a security guard and supported four children who lived at his family homestead in Greytown.

The state‚ who did not oppose his release on bail‚ requested that the man reports once a week to the Sydenham police station as part of his bail conditions.

He will appear in court again on November 8.

Last week acting KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Lucky Mkhwanazi said that several suspects had been taken in for questioning in connection with the massacre.

“We have taken in a few people for questioning and one appeared in court. We have good leads that we are working on as part of this investigation and we are positive that some of those we have taken in were involved in the shooting‚” he said.