Pastor accused of beating suspect to death

HAZYVIEW – A self-proclaimed pastor from Mgandizweni accused of beating a suspect to death, has told the Nelspruit regional court that he has always preached against people taking the law into their own hands.

Pastor Mandla Dube, who is also Technical Manager for community projects in the department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Sabelo Mlombo (27) who apparently died after he was allegedly beaten with a pick handle and a broomstick.

In his testimony, Dube confessed to have assaulted the deceased at his house after he denied stealing his water tanker which went missing while the deceased was hired to pack bricks at Dube’s home. He also alleged that the deceased admitted to have stolen the tank and sold it, but he (deceased) later denied the knowledge of the tank and that was when he began to assault him.

He states that the deceased tried to flee, but he caught him with his waist belt, but finally fled by jumping over a fence. He also alleged that the deceased fell with his head down, hitting his head on a rock. He continued to say he and a friend carried the deceased to the Hazyview police station where he was left him.

Magistrate Willie Wilkens said as Dube admitted to assaulting Mlombo, a doctor’s post-mortem report also states that the deceased’s knees were fractured, his forearm also got a fracture and evidence revealed in court stated the broom stick even broke. The court also heard that the deceased also sustained a broken neck.

Constable Dorcus Ngomane from Hazyview testified that the deceased was tied up with something like a wire or rope, from his legs up to his chest, his hands were also tied up and he was unable to walk when he was left at the police station. Ngomane also told the court that the three men who brought the deceased at the police station, left him outside the station and called the police to attend to him.

“The deceased spoke slowly, asking for water. He had blood on his head which flowed down his face. There was also more blood on his T-shirt. We called an ambulance, which took him to hospital,” Ngomane testified.