Detective Sgt Floyd Shabangu from Vosloorus Police Station was very excited after he secured the conviction of two men who were accused of culpable homicide.
The accused, Nkosana Mangqasana (22) and Siphiwe Zimu (20), were found guilty of culpable homicide and were each sentenced to eight years in prison by the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court on October 18.
During his interview with Kathorus MAIL in his office at Vosloorus Police Station, Shabangu explained how the case unfolded.
“Two cousins, Simthandile Liqa (30) and Mkhuseli Makhanda (26), were returning from a friend’s party in Windmill Park on March 26, 2017. As they were walking along Maseko Street, in Vosloorus, they decided to go past another friend’s place, where a 21st birthday party was being held. One of the party-goers came out of the house and met Liqa and Makhanda on the street and offered them drinks.
“Mangqasana and Zimu came out of the same house and asked the party-goer why he had given the drinks to Liqa and Makhanda. Liqa was assaulted. The person who had offered the drinks tried to stop the fight. The suspects stopped assaulting the victim, but then they came back and started assaulting him again, this time focusing on his head.
“According to the eyewitness, the suspects were using wrestling moves and knocked Liqa’s head on the tar road several times. Liqa lay motionless on the floor. His cousin, Makhanda, fled the scene, fearing for his life,” said Shabangu.
He said the eyewitness went to the house of one of the suspects to report the incident to the suspect’s parents, since it was not too far away from the scene.
“When he came back he found the victim breathing heavily and gasping. An ambulance was called and the victim was taken to Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus, where he died three days later because of his head injuries.
“I did not get a chance to take his statement as he was unconscious for three days,” Shabangu told Kathorus MAIL.
Shabangu started his investigation, which led to the arrest of both suspects on April 5, 2017.
“Upon my investigation, I realised that the victim had prior head injuries that he had sustained during a car accident in 2011. The defence attorney tried to use that to their advantage by claiming that the cause of the victim’s death might have been the injuries he sustained in 2011.
“The court instructed me to go to Baragwanath Hospital, where the victim was treated for head injuries in 2011, to retrieve his files. I took that file together with the current file to the state mortuary in Germiston for a doctor’s opinion on the cause of the victim’s death. The results showed that the current incident caused the victim’s death.
“As a result, the court found both Mangqasana and Zimu guilty of culpable homicide and they were both sentenced to eight years each direct imprisonment on October 18 this year. They were out on bail all along,” explained Shabangu.
He said the victim is survived by two sisters in the Eastern Cape.
“He was the breadwinner as he was working here in Johannesburg,” added Shabangu.
Shabangu said the community needs to learn that alcohol abuse is a big challenge.
“It leads people to make decisions that they later regret. Most crimes are committed by people who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Capt Piet Rossouw from Vosloorus Police Station thanked Shabangu and the police for their dedication to solving this case.
“I am very certain that the community will now see that crime does not pay and that people who drink alcohol irresponsibly will face justice,” said Rossouw.
