Durban — Sboniso Blessing Mthembu was likely to stand trial on his own in the Durban High Court in November for the murder of Ntombifuthi Wendy Zulu, who was tied up and strangled to death in a home robbery in Molweni.
His co-accused, Siphosethu Dlamini, was expected to tender a possible guilty plea on August 10 – this was not a plea in relation to the murder, but for possession of allegedly stolen property.
The pair appeared in court on Friday for the finalisation of their pre-trial, where November 6 was set for the trial to be heard and August 10 was set for Dlamini’s possible guilty plea to be dealt with.
Zulu was killed in October last year and her car was stolen; Dlamini was allegedly found in possession of her vehicle.
Following his arrest last year, Dlamini, 25, was linked to the murder after his appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, where he had initially appeared before magistrate Wendalynn Robinson charged with being found in possession of suspected stolen property.
The State in the matter says that Zulu and Mthembu resided in the Nogxaza area, Molweni, Hillcrest, and Dlamini resided in the KwaDabeka area.
“Sometime prior to the incident the accused conspired and planned to rob and kill the deceased in order to steal from her a vehicle and other items. On Thursday, October 20, 2022 Mthembu set out to execute their plan.
“He forcefully gained entry into the home of the deceased and lay in wait for her return from work. On entering her home the deceased was accosted by Mthembu, bound and strangled. He then proceeded to remove items from her home and made off with her vehicle.”
It’s alleged that Mthembu then met with Dlamini, and the vehicle was handed over to him.
“The following day, after changing the vehicle number plates, the accused proceeded to a mechanic in order to remove the fitted tracking device, but were without success. Members of the SAPS arrived and Dlamini was arrested while Mthembu made good his escape.
“At a subsequent post-mortem examination, it was recorded by Dr Nonhlanhla Shamase that the cause of death was noted as consistent with manual strangulation,” alleges the State.
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