News24.com | Man accused of murdering Cape Town bus driver misses court date

Intercape driver Bangikhaya Machana who was shot and killed in Cape Town. (Supplied by InterCape)

• A man arrested in connection with the murder of Intercape bus driver Bangikhaya Machana missed his court date on Tuesday. 
• He was supposed to have appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate's Court on a charge of murder. 
• Intercape took the transport minister and Eastern Cape Transport MEC to court to force them to help protect the buses after frequent attacks.

The man accused of the murder of an Intercape bus driver did not pitch up for his court appearance on Tuesday. 

Unathi Sintsili was due to appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate's Court for the murder of long-haul bus driver Bangikhaya Machana, 35, who was shot dead in April during a series of terrifying attacks on buses. 

Sintsili, 28, was arrested by a team of detectives from the Western Cape police's Serious and Violent Crimes Unit in Klapmuts, a semi-rural area near Stellenbosch, in August. 

It was considered a breakthrough while Intercape begged authorities for help.

The State opposed bail for Sintsili, but it was granted. 

READ | Intercape lashes out at transport authorities over plan to keep buses safe during festive season

He was due in court again on Tuesday, but National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said he did not pitch up. 

A warrant for his arrest was prepared but held over to give him the next appearance, 30 November, to arrive and explain himself. 

News24 reported previously Intercape said there had been more than 80 attacks on its buses this year and around 150 last year.

The attacks this year included 19 shootings and 29 incidents of rocks being thrown.

Astoundingly, when a bus transported Machana's family and friends to his funeral in the Eastern Cape, it was stopped near Idutywa and chased away, allegedly by taxi operators, IOL reported at the time. 

Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira was upset, not only because the mourners were inconvenienced, but because the bus had to drive all the way to Mthatha, and then back again with a police escort because the Idutywa police would not help them. 

In October, GroundUp reported the company secured an order that the transport minister and Transport MEC in the Eastern Cape must come up with a plan to protect their buses and passengers after trying in vain to get this agreement without the involvement of a court.