‘Sorry’ says woman accused of murdering Zulu prince to his family in court

Confusion and disbelief were etched on the faces of members of the Zulu royal family and chiefs as one of the women accused of murdering Zulu prince Lethukuthula Zulu looked at them and uttered a “sorry” as she left the dock.

Tshegofatso Moremane, Margeret Koaile, Portia Mmola, Gontshe Tlholoe and Dakalo Mbedzi appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for the continuation of their bail application.

While being led down to the cells, Mmola turned to the family who was seated at the front of the public gallery and whispered “sorry”.

In a written affidavit opposing bail, Sergeant Mokwena Mojapelo, the investigating officer, testified that all the accused, except for Mbedzi, had issues with their addresses and they had given different addresses in other matters they were charged in.

Koaile, Mmola and Tlholoe are linked to separate robbery charges in Benoni while Moremane was charged with assault GBH in another matter.

It is not in dispute that the women met the Prince and his friend at a News Cafe in Randburg where they bought the women drinks and later moved to the men’s home where they continued drinking.

No drugs found at the scene

Some of the women alleged that Zulu and his friend had taken cocaine during the course of the night, however, prosecutor Yusuf Baba said that police photographers found no drugs at the scene. The only thing that was found was insulin needles that Zulu used because he was a diabetic.

In her warning statement, Moremane said that she had sex with Zulu and admitted to taking a microwave and R750 from the home. She said that she noticed that the Prince was getting weak and was snoring with his eyes open.

“Accused 1 saw him being weak and did nothing to try and save him. He was given sleeping tablets that different people reacted differently to them,” argued Baba.

A toxicology report on Zulu has not been completed yet.

Baba also argued that, if released on bail, the women would be a danger to society as they were part of a syndicate and the modus operandi of the other crimes they were arrested for was the same as in this matter.

Drugging unsuspecting victims

“They are drugging unsuspecting victims. If they are released, they run the risk of endangering the public,” he said.

Their lawyer, Sibusiso Mkhwanazi, argued that there was no tested case that if they were to be granted bail they would flee as they had not done so in any of their cases.

On Moremane, Mkhwanazi said the State could not use what they say are confessions by the other women – that they drugged the men – to implicate her in the matter.

“The State has painted this dark picture that the accused made confessions and in their confessions, they are pointing fingers at each other. This court needs to differentiate between the accused and not use the confession of one to convict the other,” said Mkhwanazi.

The group also alleged that they were being watched and followed before they were arrested – a claim the State denied.

The fifth accused, Mbedzi, who is an e-hailing driver, said his only role in the matter was fetching the women from Zulu’s place. He said the women had his number and sent him a location to the place. He had fetched them from other places in the past.

Baba indicated to the court that because of the seriousness of the matter, it would be moved to the Gauteng High Court.

Judgment on the bail application was expected to be heard in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

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