Durban — The family of a Phoenix woman who was murdered by her husband has called for a strong sentence to be meted out to the man.
Judge Mohini Moodley is expected to hand down a sentence next month to Sfiso Professor Ndlovu, whom she found guilty of murder, kidnapping and malicious damage to property, on Friday in the Durban High Court.
“We want the court to make an example of him so that other men can see what happens to people like this. We want others to see that the blood they shed has power beyond the grave. He thought that since there were no witnesses, he would get away with it, but technology would be the evidence that put him behind bars,” said Khulukazi’s younger sister, Poppy Nqeketho, on Wednesday.
State prosecutor advocate Thabani Buthelezi presented evidence to the court in the form of cellphone records as well as Ndlovu’s car tracking device, which proved he had kidnapped his wife with an accomplice and murdered her.
Ndlovu, an inspector at Tansnat, had pleaded not guilty to the April 2020 murder of his wife, who also worked for the bus service.
Khulukazi had been missing for a few days when her car was found burnt and abandoned in a cemetery in Molweni.
Human remains were found inside the wreck, but the identity of the body was only confirmed six months later through DNA.
Her family had been unable to bury her because of the delay in confirming the identity of the burnt body.
“Until now, my sister has not had a funeral because she was married. We, as a family, could not bury her, and since Ndlovu had been charged, he couldn’t bury her either. So now, we will have closure and finally bury my sister. My father and the whole family are relieved to find closure finally,” said Nqeketho.
Khulukazi had moved out of the Phoenix home and was renting accommodation in the area at the time of her disappearance.
Ndlovu was arrested nearly six months after her body was found.
Nqeketho said she, too, worked at Tansnat but was forced to quit her job as she could not bear to see Ndlovu every day.
“I could see how confident he was at work every day. He was sure he was going to get away with this. He behaved like he did not care what had happened.
“He treated this like some sort of joke. He would even call me his wife at work, saying that in Zulu culture, when a wife passes away, her sister has to take her place in the marriage. He was not remorseful at all. I am so happy that he was found guilty.”
The couple, who did not have children together, lived in Phoenix. They lived with Ndlovu’s niece and another man, during the trial, the same man who was Ndlovu’s accomplice.
“The man has been in hiding since the murder. We want him to be found and for him to also have his day in court and join Ndlovu behind bars. The man contacted us at the start of the trial, saying he was willing to testify how Ndlovu had promised him money that had not been paid. But when it was time to do this, he said he wanted money from us, and we refused,” Nqeketho explained.
She said that the man went quiet after this.
It was not until a week before Ndlovu’s judgment that he contacted the family again.
“We told him it was too late now, the trial was finished, and we told him that the prosecutor said if he had anything to say about the case, he should hand himself over to the police.”
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