More charges for Amahle murder accused

LEONARD Mzingeli, the 25-year-old man accused of killing 17-year-old Amahle Quku of Philippi in June, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday on two new charges.

Mzingeli was initially charged with Amahle’s murder; however, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Mzingeli was charged with the rape and murder of Amahle and the attempted murder and rape of another victim.

Ntabazalila said the case was postponed to December 3 for an indictment and summary of facts.

This comes after Mzingeli abandoned his bail application in July.

Amahle’s body was found by residents in Albert Luthuli Street at Siyahlala informal settlement in Browns Farm, Philippi, with her distraught mother, Mandulele Quku, saying the family only found out about her death after pictures of her naked and bruised body trended on Facebook.

Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz said he requested members of the court watching brief (CWB) unit to monitor the case and ensure that each leg of the criminal justice system was operating optimally to ensure that “Amahle’s murderer” was not allowed to roam freely and possibly endanger the lives of others.

Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said the organisation became aware of a number of cases of violence against women and children in the Nyanga cluster, and witnessed an increase in the number of cases involving the rape, murder,and sex trafficking of young women and children.

Monakali said the organisation would hold an motorcade tomorrow to underline the message, uthuleleni (why are you silent), to help break the silence on gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against children, in collaboration with the Nyanga police station and civil society organisations.

“The motorcade will cover… areas that have been identified by the police as hot spots for GBV, which include Crossroads, Browns Farm, Ramaphosa, and Siyahlala informal settlement,” Monakali said.