Mom slain with plank of nails: officer son in dock
THE pretrial conference for a police constable charged with his mother’s murder is expected to be held before magistrate B Asmal in the Pinetown Regional Court in December.
Yesterday, Lungisani Xaba, a former Kwadabeka constable, was told by Asmal that he faced a minimum sentence of 15 years should he be convicted of the murder.
The officer, who remains behind bars as he was refused bail, stands accused of killing his 70-year-old mother, Greta Xaba, on May 6 in Kwadabeka, near Pinetown.
He is alleged to have beaten her using a wooden plank with nails in it.
It emerged earlier that the State’s evidence included DNA found on the alleged weapon and a handwriting analysis report.
Xaba was arrested on May 6 in Kwadabeka for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. However, the charge was changed to murder on May 8 after his mother died.
When Xaba was refused bail by magistrate Wendalynn Robinson in July, she cited the testimony of the investigating officer that Xaba was familiar with some State’s witnesses and the evidence they were to give. However, in his affidavit he insisted that he did not know the witnesses.
Before his arrest, Xaba had been working at the Kwadabeka police station since 2010.
In another case involving a police officer, Sergeant Ayanda Doctor Ntombela, who is out on R20 000 bail and stands accused of kidnapping and murder, is expected to appear in the regional court in Pinetown tomorrow.
Ntombela allegedly took Sihle Mtshare in for questioning on August 21, but he disappeared. His body was found in Camperdown 18 days later.