Smangele Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter, Sbongakonke Mthembu.
Durban — Four years ago the bodies of mother and daughter Smangele Simamane and 12-year-old Sbongakonke Mthembu were discovered stuffed into a big suitcase on Lwandle Drive in KwaDabeka.
Three years after the offences were committed, Slindile Pamela Zamisa and her daughter, Andile Zamisa, were sentenced for the crimes by the Durban High Court.
Slindile was handed two life sentences, one for each murder, while Andile was also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Simamane.
They were each sentenced to five years for kidnapping Sbongakonke, five years for kidnapping Simamane, and six years for defeating the ends of justice by concealing evidence.
The accused mother and daughter had pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them by the State. This was while a teen who had been charged along with the women indicated that she wanted to plead guilty when the trial began, and a separation of trials was imposed.
Before judgment was handed down in 2023, the teen, who was 12 years old at the time of the murders, tendered her guilty plea in the high court. However, the presiding judge in the matter did not accept it and instead wanted the matter to go to trial.
A year on and the trial was yet to proceed. It had initially been set to begin in February this year. However, it was adjourned to begin this week, but this did not happen.
During the trial into the murders, the court heard evidence of how a relative’s prophecy that Simamane had a hand in the murder of Zamisa’s (Slindile) late husband, Bheki Ngcobo, fuelled the assault on Simamane.
Further, following Simamane’s assault, she had four kettles of boiling water poured over her body, was strangled with a rope, and had a shovel pressed against her neck.
This had been while Zamisa (Pamela) had pressed her foot on the neck of little Sbonga whom she had told to lie on the floor.
Evidence was that this all transpired in the Zamisa home in October 2020.
The court heard that Zamisa, her stepdaughter, Nomfundo True Love Ngcobo, Andile and the teenager took part in the assault.
It heard how Zamisa’s boyfriend, Sthembiso Nicholas Lamula, had helped them dispose of the bodies.
The bodies were discovered stuffed into a big suitcase on Lwandle Drive in KwaDabeka.
The court heard all this evidence from Nomfundo True Love Ngcobo as well as Sthembiso Nicholas Lamula who have been convicted and are already serving time for their part in the kidnapping and murders.
The teen, now 16, had always been represented by a private attorney and her move to now be represented by Legal Aid South Africa has delayed the commencement of her trial.
Court proceedings relating to the teen are held in-camera as she is a minor, and only the families of the slain mother and daughter as well as the accused teen are allowed inside.
Last year, in her plea, the teen said: “We loaded the body of Sbonga’s mother into a luggage suitcase, which has wheels and a lever to pull, with part of her lower body hanging out. The body of Sbonga was wrapped up in a blanket. We then loaded both the deceased into the back of Sthembiso’s car.
“We locked all doors and gates and we all went to find a place to dispose of the bodies. The bodies were disposed of at KwaDabeka. After that, we went to the sea to cleanse ourselves.”
On Wednesday, Simamane’s husband, Senzo Simamane, said it had been explained to the family that the trial was adjourned to Tuesday (May 16) as the teen’s Legal Aid attorney had requested time to go over the court proceedings transcripts.
Senzo, who is a member of the SAPS, returned to work this year after 20 months as he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the murders.
“I still attend therapy sessions. The fact that the teen’s trial has not yet started gives me sleepless nights. I just want it to come to finality,” he said.
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Daily News