The Nelspruit Regional Court heard the events leading to the death of Bafana Welcome Langa, who was allegedly killed by Jabulani Elvis Ngwenya of Tekatakho eight years ago.
It is alleged that on January 9, 2011, Ngwenya stabbed Langa at Majabuza Spaza around 18:00. Langa died a few days later. Ngwenya was arrested for the murder on October 24, 2016. He was released on R1 500 bail.
Jabulani Manzini, an eyewitness, told the court that Ngwenya came looking for the deceased at Majabuza shop and could not find him.
He alleged that Ngwenya came back later on the day, went straight to where Langa was playing dice and stabbed him three times. “He stabbed him on the left side of his neck, left side of his body and on his back,” said Manzini.
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The defence lawyer, Adv David Mabuza, told Manzini that his testimony was in contradiction with the statement he made to the police on the day in question regarding the number of stabbings. He argued that hospital records revealed that the deceased had only been stabbed twice, not many times as alleged in the statement. Responding to this, Manzini said, “I was the one who accompanied the deceased to hospital. I remember his injuries very well.”
He added that the accused told Langa that he would kill him while stabbing him.
The second witness, Machawe Selby Langa, the deceased’s younger brother, told the court that his brother had been stabbed twice, on the neck and on his back, by the accused. “He picked a stone up to hit Ngwenya, but he was already weak. He fell on the ground while trying to throw it, which didn’t reach the accused,” he said.
Machawe told the court that his brother had been transported by a bakkie to Mshadza clinic where he was given first aid before being transferred to Themba Hospital.
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When asked by the defence lawyer if the first witness was telling the truth or not that the deceased had been stabbed three times, Machawe said, “He was not telling the truth. He might have seen an open wound inflicted on my brother during a fight he had the previous week where he was injured on the side of his waist.
“Mabuza said before the incident, the accused went to the deceased’s home to ask his mother to stop him from harassing the accused’s wife. “The deceased used to touch the accused’s wife’s buttocks whenever he met her at the shops. She reported this to her husband (Ngwenya),” said the lawyer.
“On the day in question, the deceased told the accused that he wants to come and stay at his house,” he said. Mabuza added that Ngwenya was not armed on the day, but ended up in a fight over the deceased’s knife and only stabbed him in self-defence.
Machawe disputes these claims as untrue. “I saw him pull out a knife from his pocket before stabbing my brother,” he said.
The court also heard that the deceased developed complications a few days after he was discharged from hospital.
“He started vomiting blood and my elder brother took him to a private doctor who examined him and referred him back to Themba Hospital where he was admitted. That was the last time I saw him,” Machawe stated. The matter was postponed for further evidence . Ngwenya’s bail condition was also extended.
