Sister faints at seeing ‘ murderer ’
Cops fire stun guns at protesters
Therewas drama in the Elliotdale magistrate’s court yesterdaywhen the young sister of a slain mother of five was carried outside unconscious as the man accused of killing her sister took to the dock.
At one stage police fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd of 200 protesters who had barricaded the court entrance, baying for the accused.
The blood-soaked bodies of Nomzamo Mhlanti, 42, and her five children – Azakhiwe, 10, Yibanathi, 8, twins Wineka and Thoko, 5, and six-monthold Luphumlo – were found inside their shack home in Sidebekweni village on Wednesday. They had been hacked to death with an axe.
A suspect, Nowa Makula, 32, was later arrested in King William’s Town, about 300km away. He is the father of the youngest three children.
Yesterday, Makula was ushered into the courtroom by 10 armed policemen to face six counts of murder.
When the case got going, it was too much for Baliswa Sikhundwana, 25. She and other family members started weeping, prompting magistrate Mvuselelo Malindi to adjourn for 15 minutes to allow them to regain composure. But when the hearing resumed, Sikhundwana fainted in the gallery and was carried outside.
When proceedings resumed Makula, a Zimbabwe national, told the court he would need a legal aid lawyer and would prefer a Shona-speaking interpreter. He said he had no previous convictions or other pending cases against him.
Malindi set the formal bail application down for December 7. “A Shona-speaking interpreter will be made available on that day,” Malindi informed the accused.
Outside court Sikhundwana broke down sobbing while being interviewed by journalists.
“My sister was not a violent person. She didn’t like any wrong things,” she said.
Phephela Sikhundwana, Nomzamo’s uncle, said his mind was frozen, unable to process what had happened.
Protesters held placards calling for the killer to rot in jail and not be given bail. In the crowd was child rights activist and Khula Community Development Projects director Petros Majola.
“It can’t be postponed all the time because the bodies are there in the morgue and [the accused] is here,” he said. “What is there still to be investigated? ”
The chair of the ANC Women’s League in the Amathole region, ThembalamXego, said the slaughter of six family members showed an urgent need for intensive awareness programmes, especially in remote parts of the province.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali saidMakula’s SA residency status was being investigated.