Controversial Mpumalanga politician James Nkambule appeared in court in Nelspruit on Friday on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, incitement, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

On Thursday, police said that they wanted to question him about the alleged existence of a hit list containing the names of a number of people in Mpumalanga.

The list was reportedly linked to a feud over FIFA World Cup tenders.

The former regional African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leader, who is now a member of the Congress of the People (Cope), Nkambule was arrested on Thursday after police raided his home in Barberton.

They blocked off the roads leading to his house and broke down a door to gain entry. Nkambule was not home at the time, but approached police while they were on the scene.

He was not asked to plead during his court appearance on Friday and he was remanded in custody until April 9, when the court will hear his bail application, said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Leonard Hlathi.

Hlathi said the police investigation into the case was continuing.

Nkambule was allegedly at the centre of allegations that there was a plot to oust former president Thabo Mbeki several years ago.

At the time it was reported that former Mpumalanga premier and current ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa, current Housing Minister Tokyo Sexwale and former ANC secretary-general Cyril Ramaphosa were behind the plot.

The existence of the plot was later debunked by a police and intelligence services investigation.