Durban — An accused in the murder trial of an off-duty Durban Public Order policeman who was killed at the height of the July 2021 unrest has fingered a man who is not before the court in the matter as the one who set alight the officer’s car alight with his body in the boot.
Sibusiso Ndlela, who is on trial with his co-accused Mzikayifani “Kayelihle” Ndebele in the Durban High Court, on Monday revealed this through his attorney J Hariram during the cross-examination of a police captain who had taken the accused for his pointing out relating to the case in February this year.
Ndlela and Ndebele are on trial in relation to the murder of Zolani Leadus Zuma, where it’s alleged that Zuma had been driving in his blue VW polo dressed in civilian clothes on the night of July 13.
While driving he came across Ndebele and the assailants who were helping people transport looted goods in a car that Afrika Mthembu was driving, the policeman followed them to a house in Tshelimnyama.
At the house, the officer confronted Mthembu and the assailants, producing his State firearm. Ndebele disarmed Zuma and allegedly shot him and in the process, a shot hitting his uncle Mthembu in the knee.
Mthembu was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital by his son Lungelo and his nephew, Nzuzo Khethokuhle Mngadi.
The following day, Zuma’s car was found burnt, with and his charred body in the boot.
Ndebele stands accused of the attempted murders of Zuma and his uncle, while his co-accused, Ndlela is charged with kidnapping and murdering Zuma.
The two have pleaded not guilty.
Previous evidence led in court was that at the scene where Zuma had been shot, the accused were present along with a man who has just been referred to as Duve Lungelo, and a State witness, when Zuma was put into two refuse bags and loaded into the boot of his car.
Evidence was that Duve instructed a State witness to fetch the plastic bags, gave instructions for the officer to be put in these, and then he and Lungelo came up with the plan to torch the officer in his car.
On Monday in court, Captain Wiseman Thandazani Hlela led evidence of how in February Ndlela freely took him to point out where the officer was killed and where his car had been torched.
Before Hlela began his testimony, Ndlela’s defence indicated that there was no contention in that the accused had made his statement to the officer and done the pointing out freely, except to say the contention was in respect to certain omissions in the statement.
“My instructions are that accused two was unaware that it was the intention of the other persons to set the car alight, he may not have told you. His version is that yes, he was present. The accused will tell the court that he did not tell you that he had no knowledge that the car was going to be burnt but he did mention that it was Duve who had set the car alight,” said Hariram during Hlela’s cross-examination.
Hlela’s evidence had been that Ndlela directed him from the SAPS offices to the scene in Tshelimnyama where he pointed out where the officer’s body lay with his head facing north and legs facing south.
Ndlela had told Hlela that he arrived on the scene to find Zuma still alive; this had been after he had come running to the scene on hearing that Lungelo’s father had been shot.
“The accused then said he was going to take me where the deceased was burnt and pointed the road across, saying he was going to take me there. We then jumped into the car and went onto Milkyway Road. The accused pointed to the right where there is a dumping site along Dassenhoek Road, he pointed to where the deceased’s car was pushed by a truck belonging to Lungelo’s father, he said the deceased was in the boot and the car was set alight,” said Hlela.
The trial continues.
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