The man who killed his two girlfriends, Lindokuhle Mbhele and Zinhle Zulu, in separate incidents and later claimed that one of them was attacking him, has been found guilty of the two murders by the Pinetown Regional Court. 

Ntokozo Brian Khumalo assaulted and killed Mbhele on August 31, 2023. He then buried her body in a ditch located in a neighbour’s yard in Tshelimnyama.

Mbhele’s decomposed remains were found two days later, on September 2, 2023. Khumalo subsequently claimed that he acted in self-defence against Mbhele.

Following his arrest for Mbhele’s murder, police connected Khumalo to the March 2022 killing of Zulu, which occurred while he resided in KwaDabeka.

After Zulu’s death, Khumalo moved to Tshelimnyama, where he began a relationship with Mbhele and killed her five months into the romance.

According to Zulu’s sister, Londeka Zulu, Khumalo arrived at their home on March 22, 2022, in the morning and told her to come to his residence as Zulu, who had slept over, was calling for her.

Upon arrival, Londeka found her sister lying motionless on the bed, facing upwards. Zulu was found wet, with visible bruises and swelling on her face and eyes.

Khumalo’s initial explanation to Londeka was that he and Zulu argued. However, during the subsequent trial, his account changed, and he claimed that Zulu had already sustained her injuries before arriving at his residence.

When Londeka took her sister to a nearby clinic, Khumalo disappeared. Zulu was declared dead at R Khan Hospital.

Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo ruled that Khumalo was an unreliable witness.

The magistrate reached this conclusion after finding that Londeka’s evidence was consistent with the warning statement Khumalo had initially given to the police but later denied making.

In his admission to the police, he confessed to assaulting Zulu following an argument. He stated that he had slapped her across the face and then, once she was on the floor, he had stomped on her head with his feet. He claimed he only ceased the assault when he observed blood emerging from her nose.

“The suggestion by the accused that he did not make the statement is, therefore, rejected as false beyond a reasonable doubt,” Magistrate Khumalo ruled.

He said Khumalo’s actions of disappearing at the clinic where Zulu was first taken were those of a person with a guilty conscience. 

The magistrate stated that Khumalo would not have hidden Mbhele’s body if he had been acting in self-defence.

He found the evidence of Khumalo to be inconsistent with the innocence he claimed.

“One is driven to the conclusion that the accused has been untruthful and the probability is that he only became frightened and hid the body after realising that he had committed murder,” Magistrate Khumalo said. 

He further noted that Khumalo pleaded guilty to defeating the administration of justice.  

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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