SANDF reservist Lwanda Mxolisi Zungu was refused bail in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court charged with his wife’s murder. His two children and his mother in-law witnessed the shooting in the couple’s bedroom. Picture: Anelisa Kubheka
Durban — The mother of a woman who was allegedly killed by her husband said they still feared for their lives as witnesses in the murder despite the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court denying the accused bail on Thursday.
Lwanda Mxolisi Zungu is accused of shooting and killing his wife, Tania Msane Zungu, once in the head, four times in the neck and once in her body in their Pinetown home while his two children, boys, aged 11 and 15, as well their grandmother (mother-in-law) Gwen Msane were in the house.
After that, he allegedly ran away and handed himself over to the police two days after the shooting.
Speaking outside court, Msane said she was happy with the court's ruling and felt that it was the first step towards getting justice.
“In a way, we are relieved when it comes to fears of our safety being allayed with him being behind bars, but our fear is not completely gone because whatever he might be thinking of doing, he could send another to do it,” she said.
When Msane was asked whether Zungu's boys missed their parents, she said the two children spent most of their time with their mother.
“He (Zungu) was always away for work and hardly spent time with them; the boys really miss their mother. They (the boys) are still very traumatised following their mother's killing. One of the boys is really not coping with the loss and it is affecting his schooling, while the other is trying his best.”
In her bail ruling, Magistrate Wendalynn Robinson said the main ground for the State opposing bail in the case seemed to be the safety of the witness.
“This, in my view, is a real concern for the State as it is alleged that he threatened the witnesses. The accused, in his evidence during the bail application, said that he did not know the witness – whereas he does. They are his children and his mother-in-law. He also knows their whereabouts, he knows where his children go to school and where his mother-in-law lives,” she said.
Robinson said the strength of the State’s case, while a factor when considering bail, was not the sole reason for refusing bail, as the strength of the State’s case may also cause the accused to evade trial.
“The accused, in his evidence in the bail application, also said he wanted to be released so that his children can know the truth. In the same breath, he also said he will reveal everything in trial in denying killing his wife. The court is not satisfied that he has discharged the onus to adduce exceptional circumstances for his release on bail. Yes, there are circumstances he produced, but they do not amount to ‘exceptional’.”
The case was adjourned to June for further investigation.
State prosecutor Ehud-Jadon Francke said that while a ballistics report had been filed when the murder was investigated, a report by an expert witness in terms of trajectory was still outstanding.
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