Minors, traditional healer convicted for prostitute's beheading
Durban – Three minors and a traditional healer were convicted in the Durban High Court for beheading a Durban prostitute, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday.
NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that Sibonakaliso Mbili, a traditional healer, and three minors including a 16-year-old girl, were convicted of murder on Thursday.
Mbili’s assistant, Vusumuzi Gumede, was acquitted. All five had pleaded not guilty to the murder.
The body of Murugan, who was working as a prostitute, was found by municipal workers in 2014 in Shallcross Sports Ground.
Her head was found a few days later in the Mfume area near Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
She had been stabbed 192 times before she was beheaded.
In September 2014 Falakhe Khumalo, who was sentenced after pleading guilty, told the Durban Regional Court that he was promised R2 million for the head of a white, Indian or coloured person by Mbili.
The 18-year old enlisted the help of the three minors. According to Khumalo, the offer was made after Mbili had treated him for a sexually transmitted disease.
Ramkisson-Kara said that the four would be sentenced on March 31.