Life behind bars 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 of the boy being attacked spread on social media following the horrific crime . .

This week, the Verulam Regional Court sentenced Andile Nhleko (27), Mncedisi Mzobe (27) and Lindani Ndlovu (26) to life in prison and various prison terms for the teenager’s murder and kidnapping.

Their co-accused, Malusi Mthembu (27), was sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder and three years in prison for kidnapping.

The incident took place in the Hambanathi area of ​​Tongaat. Another co-accused in this case, Mlungisi Thabethe, died before the start of the trial.

Teenage boy beaten to death for allegedly stealing alcohol

The boy was suspected of stealing alcohol from Thabethe’s premises. He was questioned and eventually admitted to consuming the alcohol.

After the alcohol was recovered, the boy was held in a room on the premises and the other suspects were called.

They abused the boy with various objects, such as a sjambok, golf clubs and wooden sticks. They took turns attacking him for more than four hours.

At one point, the boy’s sister arrived on the scene after hearing from someone that he was being attacked.

Ndlovu told her to go get the boy clean clothes so he could be taken to hospital. When she returned, she was told that the boy had escaped.

Defendant left boy’s body in bakkie at braai

By then, the suspect had loaded the boy’s body onto a bakkie. The suspect then attended a braai and birthday party for Thabethe.

After the birthday celebration, Nhleko, Mzobe and Ndlovu went to another area where they burned the body.

The next morning, Nhleko chopped the body into pieces and put it in a bag. The remains were dumped in a nearby river.

Thabethe was initially arrested, followed by the arrests of his co-accused.

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Testimony

In court, prosecutor Nthuthuko Sidwell Mngadi led evidence from a Section 204 witness who was present at the offence.

In addition, the State led the evidence against another person who was also suspected of stealing the alcohol, but was released after questioning.

The boy’s sister told the court how she went to the property and was told his brother had escaped.

The police officer who was present when the remains were found also testified in court.

To aggravate the sentence, the prosecutor presented a victim impact statement prepared by the boy’s mother and facilitated by the court preparation officer, Bongiwe Qwabe.

In her statement, the woman says she is still traumatized by the incident. She said that after the incident, a video of her son’s assault circulated on social media and it hurt her even more.

Conviction breakdown in teenage boy murder case

• Nhleko and Mzobe were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and three years in prison for kidnapping.
• Ndlovu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and four years in prison for kidnapping.
• Mthembu was sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder and three years in prison for kidnapping.
• In sentencing Mthembu, the court deviated to a lesser sentence, finding that he had left the premises at some point during the assault and had not participated in the burning and dismembering 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 sentence, the suspect was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

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