The Pretoria Magistrates’ Court has granted bail of R10,000 each to prominent Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala, 53, and his uncle, Alexander Ferrowst Thema, 78, who are facing charges of possessing explosives.
Police allege that on November 6, 2025, officers stopped the pair while they were driving along Kgosi Mampuru Street in central Pretoria. A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered 26 blasting cartridges and 15 connector cap fuses.
The State did not oppose bail as both men are legally in the country. According to the affidavits, Sikhala holds a valid South African visa, while Thema is in possession of a South African identity document. The documents also stated that neither is in a position to interfere with witnesses or disrupt the investigation, the National Prosecuting Authority said.
The case was postponed to February 3, 2026, for further investigation.
Security and law enforcement officials have raised increasing alarm over the smuggling of commercial explosives from Zimbabwe into South Africa, particularly via the Beitbridge Border Post — a major crossing point between the two countries.
The explosives allegedly found in Sikhala’s vehicle resonate with a larger pattern of cross-border smuggling of munitions, raising concerns about possible links to illegal mining.
“Zama zama” syndicates, often operating in abandoned or unregulated mines, have a history of using such explosives, fuelling a lucrative but dangerous underground economy.
