A KZN man has given chilling evidence of how his stepmom placed a bloodied knife in his hand to "finish" off his dad.
|||Durban -
A Montclair man has given chilling evidence of how he killed his father, saying his stepmother had placed the murder weapon – a bloodied kitchen knife – in his hand to “finish” him off.
Thembakuye Siyanda Dlamini and his cousin, Senzo Innocent Ninela, both 21, pleaded guilty to murder in the Durban Regional Court on Thursday. Both first offenders, they were convicted and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Dlamini’s father, retired policeman Bhekuyise Anthony Ngcobo, was killed at his home on November 25 last year. His son admitted he had stabbed him in the neck.
In a joint plea read out on Thursday by their attorney, Thobile Sigcau, it emerged that Dlamini’s stepmother had fuelled an already acrimonious relationship between the father and son, convincing the son that Ngcobo was going to kill him at “any time”.
According to the plea, the day before Ngcobo was murdered, his wife had told Dlamini that his father wanted him dead. The next day, Dlamini relayed this information to Ninela and asked him to accompany him home for moral support and to prevent Ngcobo from killing Dlamini, Sigcau said.
When they arrived at the house that evening, it was in darkness and they assumed Ngcobo and his wife were asleep.
Dlamini then proceeded to his room, a Wendy house on the premises, followed by Ninela.
Dlamini said he kept peeping through the window, in fear, because his stepmother had said his father could kill him at “any time”. A while later, Dlamini said his stepmother came to his room with a kitchen knife and handed it to Ninela, telling him to protect Dlamini from his father.
The court heard that she told them Ngcobo would be arriving soon with his stepson, referred to as “Happy”, to kill Dlamini and hang his body to make it look like a suicide.
Soon after she left, Ngcobo and Happy approached Dlamini’s room. Dlamini said his father was carrying a rope and Happy, a hammer. He said he told Ninela to hide inside the room, which was dark.
Dlamini said his father went directly to the bed to where Ninela was, grabbed him and tried to strangle him. His father shouted for Happy to hold Dlamini, the court heard.
It was then that Ninela, who was still holding the knife, swung his hand, striking Ngcobo in his neck.
The accused said in their plea that Happy, who was holding Dlamini down, had whispered to him that he was there to “help” him, before releasing the hold on him. The men then left the room, leaving Ngcobo.
The stepmother approached them and asked whether Ngcobo was dead, but none of them answered because they were in a state of shock.
The stepmother then went inside the room and returned with the bloodied knife, which she handed to Dlamini, asking him to “finish” off his father because if he woke up he would try to kill him again, the court heard. Dlamini said he took the knife and stabbed his father once, in the neck.
He said his stepmother told him to open a case of self-defence, but Happy advised against it saying they would be assaulted by the police and would be made to confess.
The stepmother then instructed the cousins to wrap the deceased in a duvet and dump the body about 20m from their home, in a bushy area, to make it look like he was murdered at a tavern, they said.
After the body was dumped Dlamini and Ninela were instructed to “hide” in KwaMashu.
They said the stepmother gave them each R100 for food as well as 20 cigarettes. Sigcau argued that the men were clearly indoctrinated by Ngcobo’s wife. The motive for her actions was unknown, he said.
Prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay said Happy was arrested but subsequently released for reasons unknown.
Passing sentence, magistrate Anand Maharaj said the cousins had shown no dignity for the deceased in the manner in which they “unceremoniously” disposed of his body.
The court found there were compelling circumstances, because the accused were manipulated by Dlamini’s stepmother and they had not concocted the plan themselves.
The police investigating officer, Warrant Officer Rico Naidoo of the Montclair SAPS, who once worked with Ngcobo, said further arrests were imminent.
rizwana.umar@inl.co.za
Daily News