Murder accused granted E50 000 bail

MBABANE – The High Court has released a man who allegedly murdered another who reportedly sneaked into his homestead for his wife, thinking she was alone.

Bongani Ndlangamandla was arrested with his wife, Nonhlanhla Dlamini, for the murder of Mandla Makhubu, who died on May 16, 2022 at KaPhunga. The court initially opposed Ndlangamandla’s bail application.

Yesterday, the Crown said it was no longer opposed to the bail application. Judge Maxine Langwenya granted Ndlangamandla bail amounting to E50 000.

The court ordered the accused person to pay E2 000 in cash and provide surety for the balance. Ndlangamandla was represented by Nomakhosi Mamba of Mabila Attorneys.

Visit

Makhubu, according to Ndlangamandla’s bail papers, went to their homestead at KaPhunga after he had informed his (Ndlangamandla’s) wife that he would pay her a visit, since the man of the house would not be around.

Ndlangamandla said he was with his wife when Makhubu called.

According to the accused, on May 14, 2022, his wife, Dlamini, went to meet him in Manzini to buy groceries. He said he noticed that his wife was not her usual self and she informed him that Makhubu had called her along the way to Manzini and said he would be paying her a visit the following day, which was a Sunday, since he was aware that he (Ndlangamandla) would not be home.

He told the court that on the night of the incident, he and his wife travelled back to KaPhunga late in the evening and while they were on their way, Makhubu called Dlamini and she put him on loudspeaker.

Sneak

Makhubu, according to Ndlangamandla, informed her that he would sneak into the house at midnight when he was sure that everyone at the compound was asleep.

Ndlangamandla said he heard all that Makhubu said.

He informed the court that when they arrived at home around 11pm, they entered the house and put pillows on the bed to make it look like somebody was sleeping.

He said they sat in the ensuite bathroom and awaited Makhubu’s arrival. “Just like clockwork, at midnight we heard ruffling by our door and the deceased made his way into our bedroom, stopped at the foot of the bed, took off his clothes and crawled into our bed. All the while I was watching him from the bathroom door,” said Ndlangamandla.

The accused submitted that before Makhubu discovered that there was nobody in the bed, he emerged from the bathroom and for a split second, he seemed confused as to what was happening. Ndlangamandla alleged Makhubu charged at him and ‘he questioned my presence’.

“I pushed him back onto the bed and we wrestled each other. We fought and it was in that heat of the moment that I grabbed the nearest item and hit him with it. It was then that he lost his hold on me and was focused on the blow that he had received,” Ndlangamandla submitted.

The accused said during the commotion, his wife had contacted their niece and asked for Makhubu’s wife’s cellphone number. Dlamini, according to Ndlangamandla, quickly called her to come and see what her husband was doing.

Residence

He said Makhubu’s wife promptly arrived and asked her husband why he had sneaked out of their homestead and what he was doing at Ndlangamandla’s residence.

He told the court that after Makhubu and his wife had left, in the company of his wife and son, they went to the police station to report the incident.

Ndlangamandla said while they were at the police station, a police officer walked in and informed them that the man they had come to report for intruding at their homestead had died due to the injuries he had sustained during the fight. The accused told the court that it would be in the interest of justice to release him on bail.