Ayabulela Busakwe (left) and Simthembile Xungu will remain behind bars until the start of the trial. (Photo: Riaan Marais) 
A man facing charges of kidnapping and extortion after the abduction of a Kariega woman appeared in the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after he was allegedly linked to the brutal hit murder of a prosecutor.
Read more: Police close in on suspects as tributes paid to murdered Gqeberha prosecutor Tracy Brown
Ayabulela Busakwe made his way to the dock alongside Simthembile Xungu where the pair face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
They are alleged to have been part of the four-man gang who shot and killed Gqeberha prosecutor Tracy Brown outside her Young Park home in July.
A week ago, Busakwe stood in the Kariega Magistrates’ Court, alongside Andile Mathumbu, for his involvement in the kidnapping of and ransom demand for Theresa Minnie in August.
Read more: Eastern Cape kidnap crackdown – four held in Hawks shootout, two others abandon bail bid
While the charge sheet in the Gqeberha matter betrayed little about the case, it is believed that a firearm found in Busakwe’s possession when he was arrested for the kidnapping was subsequently linked to Brown’s shooting.
As with his matter in Kariega, Busakwe has opted to abandon his formal bail application.
Xungu, on the other hand, who was represented by an attorney from Legal Aid South Africa during his previous court appearance, has since appointed a private attorney and advocate to represent him in his bid for bail.
Speaking on behalf of his client, advocate Sibongiseni Zimema placed on record that Xungu claimed to have been severely assaulted at the hands of police and is being refused medical treatment unless he confesses to murdering Brown.
The court was given a list of symptoms, including blood in his urine, coughing blood, recurring nosebleeds and intermittent fainting. Xungu also claimed that he was forced to sign documents without knowing the contents thereof.
Standing in the dock, Xungu had no visible marks on his face or hands, which were the only parts of his body visible outside the dark puffer jacket he wore.
During proceedings, senior State advocate Marius Stander asked for the matter to be postponed for two weeks. He indicated that more arrests were imminent, seemingly confident that they could be carried out by that time.
Zimema, however, insisted that his client had a right to an earlier date for a formal bail application, and the matter was postponed to 10 September for these proceedings to begin.
While the motive for Brown’s murder is still unclear, it is widely accepted that her death was a targeted hit. Brown (42) had arrived at home on 31 July and was still seated in her car when four gunmen allegedly opened fire on her. She was rushed to hospital and succumbed to her injuries shortly thereafter.
Xungu was arrested on 21 August, on the N6 near James Calata (formerly Jamestown), after the Hawks received information that he was travelling in a Toyota Quantum en route to Queenstown.
Fewer than two weeks after the prosecutor’s death, on 11 August, 73-year-old Theresa Minnie was abducted outside her home in Fairbridge Heights. Over the following five days the kidnappers were in regular contact with her family to negotiate her release.
The initial ransom demand was R10-million, but R1.1-million was eventually paid before her release.
Busakwe and Mathumbu were arrested shortly thereafter, allegedly in possession of large sums of cash believed to be from the ransom money.
Read more: Finally – Hawks arrest suspects in latest Nelson Mandela Bay kidnapping
Over the past 12 months at least 13 kidnappings – primarily motivated by ransom demands – have taken place in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Releasing the provincial crime statistics in July, Eastern Cape MEC for community safety Xolile Nqatha said kidnappings had increased from 14 counts in the second quarter of 2024 to 35 in the second quarter of 2025. DM