SEVENTH SUSPECT: New accused joins alleged Nelson Mandela Bay kidnapping and murder syndicate

While one member of an alleged organised crime syndicate, linked to the murder of a Gqeberha prosecutor, prepared for his formal bail application, he was unexpectedly joined in the dock by a second man on Wednesday.

In a surprise twist, the State added a seventh name to the alleged gang accused of murdering New Brighton prosecutor Tracy Brown and orchestrating at least two kidnappings for ransom in Nelson Mandela Bay last year.

Unathi Mayi made a brief appearance alongside Xolani Busakwe in the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court before he was remanded in custody until he returns to court with the rest of the alleged syndicate members.

This was his first appearance in the Gqeberha court after he was transferred from Maletswai, where he was initially arrested in June 2025.

According to the charge sheet before court, Mayi was involved in a robbery in which a vehicle was stolen in Maletswai on 21 June 2025.

On 23 July 2025, the same vehicle was allegedly used during a kidnapping in the same town and was subsequently found with four occupants. At the time, Mayi was the only person arrested, and has since made multiple court appearances in Maletswai.

That case has now been withdrawn, and Mayi’s name was added to the case before the court in Gqeberha.

On Wednesday, the prosecution revealed that the other three men in the vehicle with Mayi were none other than Simthembile Xungu, Thamsanqa Mthembu and Buhle Mbini – three of the six men facing a string of charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca). Mthembu (33) was arrested in the Free State at the weekend in connection with the murder of Gqeberha public prosecutor Tracy Brown.

Two months after the assassination of Brown, who was gunned down outside her Young Park home in July 2025, Xungu was arrested in connection with her murder.

Mthembu was subsequently arrested in the Free State in December 2025, allegedly trying to evade police custody for his role in Brown’s murder.

Mbini was added to the matter in May 2026, believed to be the mastermind behind the prosecutor’s shooting after orchestrating it from within the St Albans Prison. He was already in custody on an illegal firearms charge – the case that put the fatal target on Brown’s back.

Meanwhile, the State has linked Ayabulela Busakwe to Brown’s murder, as well as the kidnapping of Theresa Minnie in Kariega and Lindsay Knowlden in Markman, between June and August 2025.

Last month, his brother Xolani Busakwe – a member of the Hawks’ specialised Cyber Crime Unit – was arrested for his alleged ties to the criminal gang.

A charge sheet with more than 40 counts, including kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, robbery, murder and money laundering, is before court. Not all the charges apply to all the accused, but they have been roped together under Poca.

They are scheduled to return to court together next week.

On Wednesday, after Mayi left the dock, Xolani Busakwe’s formal bail application got under way. He stated his case by way of an affidavit, read into the record by his legal representative.

Besides charges under Poca, he has also been accused of human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and money laundering.

It is alleged that he was complicit in the planning and execution of a kidnapping and shared in the proceeds of a R1.25-million ransom payment, subsequently using that money to buy a car.

Busakwe denied any involvement or knowledge of gang activity.

He said his continued incarceration would greatly prejudice him as it would prevent him from adequately preparing for a disciplinary hearing at work – a process related to the charges before court.

He further claimed that he was scheduled to begin exams at the University of Johannesburg, where he is studying digital forensic investigation.

Busakwe is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, when the State is expected to submit evidence in opposition to his release on bail. DM