The woman dubbed the “cross-dressing crime boss” by the Ladysmith Gazette was recently convicted of murder, robbery and extortion in the Madadeni High Court.
30-year-old Lindokuhle Silindile Portia Ndaba, had befriended a 53-year-old truck driver from the Northern Cape, Joseph Kock. During January last year, as Kock was travelling through KZN, he contacted her and she convinced him to stop over for a visit near her home in the Besters area along the N3. Delighted with the opportunity to me with her again, he seized the chance.
Little did he know what lay in store for him. The accused had conspired with others to murder and rob him. He was caught off-guard and his assailants beat him to death, after which they concealed his lifeless body under a tree. Kock’s cell-phone and cash were taken by his attackers.
Police became involved when Kock’s employer raised the alarm when his truck was tracked to a location along the N3, with no sign of the driver. His family also became distressed when they failed to get hold of Mr Kock on his cell-phone. A missing persons report was opened in Ladysmith and the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Martin Struwig, was tasked with the investigation.
A few days later, the family of the deceased received a call from a woman who claimed to be able to assist in locating the deceased. This offer was associated with a fee. In their desperation, the family made arrangements and deposited an amount of money into a bank account, as directed by the caller. The family then contacted Ladysmith police and told them what they had done.
With this information WO Struwig was able to track down the name of the account holder, a woman from the Bluebank area.
With a name in hand, the investigating officer set out to trace the suspect. She, however, proved to be very elusive, disguising herself as a man on numerous occasions. Before her arrest, she managed to elude police by switching between male and female disguises at whim, able to pass for either sex with ease.
In the early part of April, barely two months later and with a lot of effort and time, the cross-dressing crime-boss was finally traced to a house in Bergville. She was taken in for questioning. During interrogation, she agreed to co-operate with the investigating officer and offered to make a formal confession, as well as point out the crime scene.
During the pointing out of the crime scene, police were led to a decomposed body. The missing persons case had now turned into a murder. The suspect was charged with the murder, as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances and extortion.
The case was heard last week in the Madadeni High Court, where Judge Naidoo was the presiding officer. The accused plead guilty and sentencing was handed down on Monday this week. The accused was sentenced to an effective 25 years’ imprisonment. She received 20 years for the murder, 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and five years for extortion.The murder and robbery sentence is to run concurrently.
The investigating officer indicated that the case would not have been solved so quickly if not for the assistance of other Ladysmith personnel such as Colonel VJ Cele (Ladysmith Detective Commander), Major Mzinyane, Captain Mkhize, Warrant Officer Labuschange and Warrant Officer Nyathi, who played pivotal roles in helping him trace the suspect and collect the evidence he needed to be able to build a strong case against her.
