Tahir Thaku
Image: Supplied
TWO weeks after Tahir Thaku was shot dead in a brazen hit in Umhlatuzana, a 48-year-old Welbedacht man has appeared in court for his murder.
Musa Mhlongo was arrested by detectives from the Bayview SAPS last Wednesday.
He appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for his first appearance, and was remanded into police custody at Westville Prison until his formal bail application, later this week.
Mhlongo is alleged to have shot Thaku, 44, multiple times on April 10, near the Bayview off-ramp.
The State alleged that Mhlongo had acted in common purpose with others.
Thaku, a father of two, was travelling with his 82-year-old father, Krish Thaku, when a vehicle bumped into them from the rear, forcing them to stop.
It is alleged that a gunman alighted the vehicle and walked up to Thaku, who was seated in the back seat of the vehicle, and shot him multiple times.
A source told the POST on Tuesday that Thaku’s parents, especially his father, were living in fear of his life, as he had witnessed the shooting.
He said because there were a series of violent attempts on Thaku’s life previously, police should have put his elderly father into witness protection.
“We are appealing for the support of the public at Thaku’s alleged killer's bail application on Friday.
“We hope that the community stands together with the Thaku family to call for the suspect’s bail to be opposed,” the source said.
Thaku was the practice manager at the Parlock Healthcare Centre, where his wife Dr Kirona Hansraj practices as a general practitioner.
In a previous interview with POST in 2024, Thaku said he survived an attempted hijacking and a brutal assault on the same day, and he lived in fear of his life.
The State is opposed to Mhlongo’s release on bail.