NELSPRUIT – A 65-year-old woman who planned to rob a traditional healer of
R3 million, will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Belinah Maluka and her co-accused, Louis Mlungisi Msibi (28) and Surprise Sibusiso Nzima (24) were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Richard Philip Manikela (53) of Phathwa near KaBokweni.
They were also sentenced to an additional 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. Maluka and Msibi each received a three-year sentence for possession of firearms, while Nzima got five years for illegal possession of firearms and one for possession of ammunition.
In a nutshell, Maluka and Msibi were sentenced to 43 years in prison while Nzima was sentenced to a solid 46 years by the Nelspruit Circuit of the Pretoria High Court on September 20.
This follows the tragic incident which happened at Phathwa Village on July 22, 2011, where the accused, including Percy Dube (23) who turned to be a state witness and was currently serving his 20 years’ sentence in prison, testified how they were asked by Maluka to rob Manikela.
Dube testified in court that he was requested by her to get people to rob the healer.
The court also heard that the accused met at Maluka’s house before proceeding with the arranged robbery.
Dube told the court that she had given them information about Manikela’s movements and items to be used in the attack were also shown to her. These included a gun, masking tape and tyre clamps. It was heard in court that she instructed them not to kill the victim as they were very close and referred to each other as brother and sister.
The accused hid outside Manikela’s house in the early hours of the morning, and saw him when he started his car in the garage and went to open the gate.
As he walked back, they accosted him and ordered him to lie on his stomach. His hands were tied behind him with the tyre clamps and his mouth covered with masking tape.
Some of the men entered the house and Dube went to the healer’s bedroom where his wife was found and was ordered to lie on the bed.
They searched the home for the money, but couldn’t find it after which some of the accused took Manikela to the kitchen where an electric iron was switched on and pressed onto his stomach.
The court also heard that Nzima went back to the bedroom, opened a safe, took Manikela’s shotgun, ammunition, wallets and money, went back to the kitchen and fired a shot. He died instantly.
Adv Kenneth Mashile described Maluka as evil. “You need to be evil to do this to your brother.”
He argued that the offence was motivated by greed, without taking into consideration the property and life of another.
The judge described the murder as a senseless, cold-blooded and ruthless one and the torture of the healer with an iron as brutal and cruel.
He added that crime stats in the country showed a rise in victims who were killed at their homes. “Nobody has the right to take someone’s life. Life is a gift, once it is taken, it cannot be regained,” he said.
