Life sentences for trio guilty of brutal murder of Tongaat teenager

The mother of the 16-year-old teenager who was kidnapped and murdered in April 2020 said she is still struggling to come to terms with her son’s death, especially after a video showing the boy being attacked was posted on social media in the wake of this heinous crime. .

This week the Verulam District Court sentenced Andile Nhleko, 27, Mcedisi Mzobe, 27, and Lindani Ndlovu, 26, to life imprisonment and various prison terms for the murder and kidnapping of the young boy.

The other defendants, Malusi Mthembu (27), were sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder and three years in prison for kidnapping.

The incident took place in Hambanathi district of Tongaat. Another defendant in this matter, Mlungisi Thabethe, passed away before the start of the trial.

Young man who allegedly stole alcohol was beaten to death

The boy was suspected of stealing alcohol from Thabethe’s home. He was interrogated and eventually admitted to drinking alcohol.

After alcohol was found, the child was kept in a room at the facility and other defendants were called.

They attacked the child with different objects such as sjambok, golf club and wooden stick. They took turns attacking him for more than four hours.

At one point, the boy’s sister arrived at the scene after hearing from someone that he had been attacked.

Ndlovu told her to bring clean clothes for the boy so he could be taken to hospital. When he returned, he was told that the child had run away.

Defendant left child’s body in bakkie in Braai

Meanwhile, the defendant loaded the child’s body into a bakkie. The defendant then attended a barbecue and birthday celebration for Thabethe.

After the birthday celebration, Nhleko, Mzobe and Ndlovu went to another area and cremated the body.

The next morning Nhleko dismembered the body and put it in a bag. The remains were thrown into a nearby river.

Thabethe was initially arrested, then the other defendants were also arrested.

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Testimony

In court, Prosecutor Nthuthuko Sidwell Mngadi led the evidence of a Section 204 witness who was present at the crime.

Additionally, the State took the statement of another person suspected of stealing the alcohol, but he was released after interrogation.

The boy’s sister told the court how she went to the building and was told her brother had run away.

The police officer who was there when the bodies were found also testified in court.

In order to aggravate the sentence, the Prosecutor submitted a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the child’s mother and facilitated by court preparation officer Bongiwe Qwabe.

In her statement, the woman said that she was still experiencing the trauma of the incident. He said that after the incident, the video of his son being beaten circulated on social media and this made him even more upset.

Distribution of sentences in the murder case of a young boy

• Nhleko and Mzobe were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and three years for kidnapping.
• Ndlovu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and four years for kidnapping.
• Mthembu was sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder and 3 years for kidnapping.
• In sentencing Mthembu, the court leaned towards a lighter sentence, finding that he had left the premises at some point during the attack and had not participated in the burning and dismemberment of the deceased.
• The court convicted him on the principle of common purpose but found that he had only played an initial role in the crime. In addition to the punishment, it was also stated that the defendants were unfit to possess firearms.

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