A married couple and the hitman they hired have been found guilty of killing a Cape Town school principal
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A spree of murder, betrayal and fraud has led to the convictions of a city trio, two of whom have been found guilty of murdering a high school principal.
The string of events unfolded in 2009, starting with the attempted murder of 21-year-old Bongani Dingana of New Crossroads in April.
Married couple Yalezwa Ndzumeka and her husband Vuyisile, a financial clerk at Sithembele Mathiso High School in New Crossroads, took out funeral policies for Dingana and had themselves declared the beneficiaries.
They then plotted to murder him in an attempt to cash in when he died, hiring hitman Luvo Nketho to do the job.
The first attempt to kill Dingana on April 16, 2009, failed, but just two months later – while Dingana was still on crutches, recovering from the first shooting – Nketho shot him dead while he was walking home with a friend.
In the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, Acting Judge Boet Smit convicted all three accused of Dingana’s murder and attempted murder.
He further convicted the Ndzumeka couple of separate charges of fraud related to the policies, worth tens of thousands of rand.
While the accused argued that they’d taken out the policies at the request of Dingana’s mother, Judge Smit rejected this version as “untrue” and “highly improbable”.
“The court finds that the policies were taken out with the object of causing Bongani’s unnatural death and thereby collecting the proceeds of the policies,” he said.
Judge Smit also found Nketho and Vuyusile Ndzumeka guilty of the murder of Mandisa Nomzoxolo Ndziba, who was the acting principal at the school where Ndzumeka worked, on August 24, 2009 – just two months after Dingana’s slaying.
However, Yalezwa Ndzumeka was acquitted of this charge, with Judge Smit saying “although the probabilities indicate that (she) was involved” in Ndziba’s murder, the evidence put forward by the prosecution fell short of proving this beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nketho – who was again hired to carry out the killing – had confessed to the principal’s murder.
According to testimony highlighted in Judge Smit’s judgment, Ndzumeka decided to murder Ndziba after she discovered corruption on his part.
Police informant Lindile Nkewu had testified that the couple had told him that it would be difficult for Ndzumeka to return to the school because the principal was asking questions about the school’s bank statements.
Had he gone back, he would have to produce the statements, which would show that school money was missing.
In addition to the other charges, Nketho was convicted of several counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition related to the murders and attempted murder.
But he was acquitted of robbing Ndziba of her cellphone during the murder, as well as of money laundering.
After the 160-page judgment, which took Judge Smit several days to read into the court record, a number of New Crossroads community members, including members from the local branch of the ANC Women’s League, rejoiced outside court by singing.
Ndziba’s daughter, Phumza, was emotional, wiping away tears as Judge Smit handed down the convictions.
“I don’t know how to feel,” said a tearful Phumza. “I’m still processing all of this.”
At the request of the defence, Judge Smit postponed the sentencing to March 19, allowing time for pre-sentencing reports to be compiled. - Cape Times
leila.samodien@inl.co.za