The two magistrates and two state prosecutors whose names allegedly appear on a hit list compiled by regional magistrate Ronnie Rambau, found no solace in the court´s decision last week.

This was after the Musina Magistrate’s court rejected the State´s application to revoke Rambau’s bail last Wednesday and have him locked up, pending the outcome of his corruption trial. Rambau and his co-accused in the corruption case, district prosecutor Estene Willemse and Musina attorney T E Lubisi, are accused of receiving bribes to influence the outcome of several court cases.

Rambau’s corruption trial took a dramatic turn, however, when an apparent hit list containing the names of nine state officials involved in his corruption case, compiled in his own handwriting, was discovered and handed to the police. Rambau was arrested on January 15 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. It is alleged that Rambau paid two witch doctors R850 and R3 500 respectively to have the nine people on the list killed.

Court spectators jubilantly applauded the magistrate’s decision last Wednesday to uphold Rambau’s bail conditions. This came despite the State´s informing the court that it had come to investigators´ attention that Rambau had allegedly also paid a third witch doctor R15 000 to dispose of the people on the list.

Among the names on the hit list was that of regional magistrate Chris Mthombeni, regional magistrate Marie Viljoen, chief prosecutor André Weideman, senior prosecutor Reino Mostert, regional court prosecutor Hilke Janse van Rensburg, senior prosecutor Deon Laminga and three policemen, one a captain and two sergeants.

On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, Rambau was released on R50 000 bail by the Giyani magistrate’s court on January 18. As part of his bail conditions, he was restricted to Louis Trichardt, only to leave town when attending his corruption case in Musina. As many of the people on the hit list also stay in Louis Trichardt, the Department of Justice subsequently appointed bodyguards for magistrates Mtombeni and Viljoen and prosecutors Weideman, Janse van Rensburg and Mostert.

"When will they realise this is serious? When we stand over an open grave?" was the response from one concerned court spectator with regard to the court’s decision to uphold Rambau´s bail last Wednesday.