Joburg man brutally murders 5-year-old son, buries him in shallow grave

A Johannesburg man was on Wednesday found guilty of murdering his five-year-old son and obstructing the proper administration of justice.

National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said Ronald Ngobeni from Ivory Park had deceived his son’s grandparents on 7 October 2022.

He took his son, Rivoningo Capu, away from them promising to buy clothes for the boy.

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“Instead, he brutally murdered the five-year-old,” Mjonondwane said. “The police launched an investigation after the grandparents reported the child missing.

“Ngobeni fabricated a story about leaving the child with a vendor, but the vendor denied any involvement,” said Mjonondwane.

Father hides body, lies to police

The boy’s decomposing body was discovered in a shallow grave in the same month. He was found to have suffered a fatal head injury.

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“Ngobeni’s lies and attempts to cover his tracks were exposed through diligent investigations by the police,” Mjonondwane added.

Judge William Kara, ruled that State Prosecutor Thamsanqa Mpekana proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the father committed the crimes.

“The verdict brings some closure to the family as well as the community at large. The NPA commends the police and the prosecutor for ensuring that justice is served for the innocent life lost.”

The case will proceed with evidence in mitigation and aggravation of sentence on 15 July.

Man decapitates family member

In May, a family in Limpopo was torn apart when a man was beheaded and a woman and her child were severely injured, allegedly by a male family member.

“Such senseless, cruel, and inhumane brutality has no place in our society, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. No one has a right to take anybody’s life, even with the slightest provocation,” said Limpopo provincial commissioner of police, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe at the time.

Additional reporting by Chulumanco Mahamba.