Senior killed for pension payout
BRUTALITY knew no bounds on Saturday when a senior citizen was strangled to death with shoelaces and his body dumped in a sugar cane field all for his meagre pension payout.
Samson Magagula (61) from the Pongola area was reportedly lured out of his home by his 31-year-old neighbour and his friend, who later confessed to the murder.
His decomposing body was found by police on Monday morning. It was covered with grass, with both hands and feet bound.
The deceased's son, Melusi Magagula (29) of the Mboloba area outside Pongola, said his father was approached by the suspect who asked him to go to town to collect his building material.
“My father knew the main suspect very well as he is our neighbour. He would assist him financially when he needed help. I am convinced he knew my father had received his pension payout from the Department of Education," said Melusi, adding that his father was a retired principal at one of the schools in the Gonje area near Vryheid.
Melusi explained that his family first noticed there was something wrong when his mother received a cash withdrawal SMS indicating his father had withdrawn money from the ATM in Hluhluwe.
“The SMS indicated that the suspects were making purchases at various shops in Hluhluwe town. When she tried to phone my father, his cellphone was off.
“She then tried calling the suspect and his cellphone was also off. The matter was reported to the police,” said Melusi.
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Hluhluwe CPF chairperson Samuel Mkhwanazi said a local family member approached him on Sunday morning after their 20-year-old daughter was gang-raped by unknown men throughout the night.
“I advised them to report the matter to the police and gathered our CPF members to go out and look for the suspects," said Mkhwanazi.
"We managed to track them down to a house where we found them sitting in the dark. We questioned them about the rape incident and the bakkie [parked outside the house]. “They confessed to the rape and also revealed that the bakkie belonged to Magagula who [they said] they killed in the Pongola area. We then called the police,” he said.
At the time of arrest, the suspects were found in possession of an Okapi knife, a star screwdriver, multiple hunting knives, and a white stolen bakkie.
Zululand Cluster SAPS spokesperson Captain Nkosie Gwala confirmed the arrest of two suspects at Hluhluwe SAPS on Sunday night in connection with the rape, and the stolen vehicle that was found in their possession. "[The suspects] appeared in court for rape, possession of dangerous weapons and stolen vehicle, on Tuesday. They are expected to appear at Pongola Magistrate’s Court soon to face charges of murder, kidnapping, and theft of a motor vehicle,” she said.