Durban — The two women convicted and sentenced for the murders of Smangele Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter Sbongakonke Mthembu had their leave to appeal dismissed in the Durban High Court on Thursday.
Slindile Pamela Zamisa and her daughter Andile Zamisa made the application straight after Acting Judge Sibisi sentenced them.
“The State’s version was dealt with at length before conviction and the defence’s version. The threshold for granting leave to appeal is high. What is required of this court is to consider objectively whether there are other courts that will find merits in the applicants’ advancements.
“When such an application is moved, a measure of certainty must be that another court will differ from the court that gave judgment. I have considered the arguments advanced by the applicants’ counsel and there were points that were not well supported. There’s nothing new brought to the attention of the court.
“I’m not convinced that another court will come to a different conclusion when it comes to conviction and sentence imposed,” said Judge Sibisi in dismissing the leave to appeal.
This had been after he had handed Slindile two life sentences, one for each murder and both were not to run concurrently. Andile was also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Simamane. The two were also handed five years for kidnapping Sbongakonke, five years for kidnapping Simamane and life imprisonment for killing her, and six years for defeating the ends of justice by concealing evidence. The judge said the sentences were to run concurrently; he also declared both women unfit to possess a firearm.
In making the appeal bid for both sentence and conviction, the women’s legal counsel Zeera Fareed said that both had maintained that they were not present when the deceased were killed and the bodies disposed of.
“It’s my submission that another court will come to a different conclusion,” she said.
State advocate Gugu Xulu asked the court to dismiss the application because the court dealt with the evidence of the witness and that was why it convicted both the accused, and in sentencing, the court considered all mitigating and aggravating factors presented to it.
“There is no other court that will come to a different conclusion.”
Outside court, Simamane’s husband Senzo Simamane welcomed the dismissal and sentence.
“I’m very happy with the sentence. Their leave to appeal application is an indication that they have no remorse and they continue denying what they did. I’m glad this is now all over and I can now find closure.”
Senzo said after the murders, he had found himself being suspected of having committed these by the Mthembu family and the community.
Simamane’s brother, Siza Mthembu, said that the family had not suspected Senzo of the murder, but had blamed him for waiting some time before sounding the alarm on their disappearances.
“Even though the sentence won’t bring my sister and niece back, we are happy with it. I am going home right now to deliver the good news to my sister’s children face to face.”
Simamane was a mother to four children, including Sbongakonke.
Her mother-in-law Nomkhosi Simamane said she would buy newspapers that reported on the sentence and be keeping the articles like all the other clippings she had been collecting to one day give to her granddaughter who is five years old.
“I pray that God keeps me until she is at least 15 years old, it is then that I will sit with her and show her all the clippings so that she can read, and know exactly what happened to her mother and sister.”
Sbongakonke, at the time of her murder, was in Grade 7 at Castlehill Primary School. Former principal Bonginkosi Kheswa described her as an excellent pupil.
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