Found guilty of shooting 2 boys

MBABANE – The man who shot two herdboys and claimed to have thought they were baboons has been convicted of culpable homicide and attempted murder.

Naphtal Daniel Ndlela (41) was found guilty of the offences by Judge Mbutfo Mamba on Tuesday. After shooting at the boys, who were sitting on top of a rock while herding cattle, Naphtal later informed his girlfriend that he thought the boys were baboons.

In the first count, he was accused of unlawfully and intentionally shooting and killing Nsizwa Ndlela, while in the second count he was said to have unlawfully and with intent to kill, shot and wounded Bongani Ndlela. Both crimes were committed at Jericho, Etibondzeni area in the Shiselweni Region on New Year’s Day in 2015.

On being arraigned, he pleaded guilty to the crime of culpable homicide in respect of the first count and his plea was accepted by the Crown. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempted murder.

Witnesses

In support of its case, the Crown led five witnesses. Two of these witnesses were police officers who attended to the scene of crime.

One Logiya Ndlela, basically told the court that the shooting and death of Nsizwa was reported to him by Bongani on the day in question and he did not witness the actual incident. He was not cross-examined by the defence.

Another witness, Mxolisi Ndlela, submitted that on January 1, 2015, while he was at home at Etibondzeni, Bongani came running and reported that he, together with the deceased, had been shot while seated on a rock at the Msitsini Hill in the same area.

Mxolisi went to the scene whereupon he found the deceased lying on the rock and facing downwards. He was bleeding profusely through his nostrils and had an open wound on his forehead, just above the right eye and he was apparently already dead. Mxolisi was in the company of his father, Mfundo and Mlamuli. The deceased was taken to his home and later conveyed to hospital.

Bongani testified that on the day in question, he, together with the deceased, were herding cattle at the Msitsini Hill, which was near the homestead of Ndoda Ndlela. They were seated on a rock not far from the said homestead.

Baboons

According to Bongani, certain people at the said homestead shouted and referred to them as baboons and threatened to shoot them. In response, the herdboys stated that they were not baboons.

He said at the time, two girls passed by and warned them that they would be shot. After a while, said the witness, he heard the sound of gunfire and ‘a red thing’ struck him on his forehead just above the left eye and also hit the deceased. He stated that he cried and immediately ran away leaving the deceased on the rock. Another shot was fired and he said he saw a man wearing a blue jumpsuit hiding under the rock they had been seated on with the deceased.

Bongani, who was 13 years old when the incident happened, told the court that he also accompanied the people who went to inspect the scene and retrieved the body of the deceased therefrom. He said he was unable to identify the person he saw under the rock and did not know the accused person at the time.

Celumusa Ndlela, a 32-year-old male of Etibondzeni also testified and told the court that on the day in question, he saw Naphtal in the area carrying a firearm and going towards Ndoda’s homestead. He testified further that while driving his cattle to drink, he heard two gunshots and, thereafter, people crying and wailing in the vicinity of Msitsini Hill. His evidence was not disputed by the defence.

Evidence

In his evidence in his defence, Naphtal admitted that he fired the gunshot that resulted in the death of Nsizwa and also injured Bongani. He stated that he did not realise that his victims were human beings but that he honestly thought that he was shooting at baboons.

He stated that he first observed the presence of ‘these creatures’ while he was at his home Ndoda’s home - about one kilometre away. He said what appeared to them to be baboons on the rock, was first noted by his sister who then alerted them to it. He testified that he stealthily approached the scene, hiding behind trees before he fired shots at the objects on the rock. He was about 100 metres away from the rock when he did so, he claimed. Naphtal said he could not see or identify his target except that he could only see two shadows or silhouettes.

After firing at his target, he said, he discovered that he had shot and killed a child, the deceased. He was shocked, he stated, and he stumbled on the uneven terrain and fell down and the gun discharged another shot in the process. The convict told the court that he left the scene and went back home but did not report that he had accidentally killed a child.

Denied

He denied the assertion by one of the witnesses that he had referred to them as baboons or that any exchange of words had taken place between his family members and the boys on the rock before the shooting. He stated that the two places were too far apart for such conversation to take place.

Judge Mamba said there was no reasonable suggestion that Bongani made up or fabricated this story or that this version of the events had been taught or fed to him by someone. The judge found that it was inescapable that Naphtal was aware that his victims on the rock on the hill were human beings and not baboons.

“He foresaw that firing at them with the shotgun might result or cause death to them but acted with utter reckless, disregard whether or not such death ensued.

“Because of this, he had the necessary intentionin the form of dolus indirectus- to cause the death of PW1. He is, therefore, guilty of the crime of attempted murder,” said Judge Mamba.

In summary, said the judge, Naphtal was found guilty of the crime of culpable homicide and attempted murder. The Crown was represented by Beauty Fakudze while Ben J. Simelane represented Naphtal.