Beaten to death with a knobkierrie

TEN months after a 22-year-old female hospitality student was brutally killed and found buried in a shallow grave at uMkhobosa forest, her boyfriend confessed to her murder in the eSikhawini Regional Court this week.

Bongani Khumalo (24) admitted to killing Londiwe Mngomezulu and burying her behind his house in February this year.

He told the court on Tuesday that he beat the deceased with a knobkierie, buried her behind his house and later moved her decomposed body with a wheelbarrow and reburied it in the forest with help from a friend.

Khumalo was arrested for kidnapping earlier this year after Mngomezulu was reported missing by her family, but was released days later.

When Mngomezulu’s decomposed body was found by a municipal worker next to the Shembe Temple, Khumalo was re-arrested and charged for the student’s murder.

During the lengthy trial, Khumalo had maintained his innocence, saying he knew nothing about the incident.

He was sentenced to 26 years imprisonment, while his co-accused Lindani Sibiya (34), believed to be the ‘friend’ who assisted Khumalo transport the body to the forest, was acquitted as no evidence linked him to the murder.

Mngomezulu’s family told the Zululand Observer they were still grappling to come to terms with their loss, but found some comfort in the sentence.

3 OCTOBER 2013

‘Shallow grave’ accused pleads not guilty

A GRIEVING young woman from Ingwavuma broke down in tears while testifying in eSikhawini Regional Court on Tuesday.

She was giving testimony against the man accused of murdering her sister earlier this year.

Nontobeko Ruth Mngomezulu took the stand as the first witness during the trial of Bongani Khumalo (28) from uMkhobosa Reserve, who IS accused of killing uMfolozi FET College female hospitality student Londiwe Mngomezulu (22) in February.

She gave evidence that on 16 February her sister told her she had been assaulted and couldn’t speak or stand properly.

‘She said she had been beaten up, and was just lying on the bed,’ said Nontobeko.

Khumalo was arrested alongside his friends Lindani Sibiya (34) and Mbalenhle Nzuza, who was believed to have been his girlfriend at the time.

He was charged for allegedly fatally bludgeoning Mngomezulu with a knob-kerrie.

Lindani and Mbalenhle were charged with defeating the ends of justice, for allegedly assisting Khumalo to dig up the body and bury it in a nearby forest.

The investigators believed that all three accused played a role in transporting the body to uMkhobosa forest using a wheelbarrow, and burying it next to the Shembe Temple.

Khumalo’s former roommate, Nobuhle Sbonelo Ngema told the court Khumalo had locked his girlfriend in a room and confessed to assaulting her.

‘When I got home from work, the door was locked.

‘I finally found him drunk at the nearby shebeen with his hands covered in blood.

‘At the house, the knob-kierrie had blood on it and the victim had a cut on her upper eyebrow.

‘She asked me to call her sister. That was the last time I ever saw her,’ said Nobuhle.

‘Hours later I received a message that she was not moving. That’s when I informed Bongani to call the police but he refused and said he was to take care of the ‘problem’ himself, by throwing the body into the river,’ recalled Nobuhle.

Both Khumalo and Sibiya pleaded not guilty to murder and defeating the ends of justice charges, while the case against Mbalenhle Nzuza was withdrawn. The trial was remanded to 18 November.