This week the Durban High Court jailed a mother and daughter for the kidnapping and murder of another mother and daughter.
Slindile Pamela Zamisa, 45, and her 25-year-old daughter Andile Pollet Zamisa each received a life sentence for the murder of Smangele Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter Sbongakonke Mthembu.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) the women lived in the same neighbourhood in Newlands West.
The murder took place in October 2020.
NPA spokesperson, Natasha Kara said on the day of the offence, they invited Smangele and Sbongakonke to their house under the pretence of wanting to resolve a dispute between Sbongakonke and one of their younger family members.
“On their arrival, the women accused them of killing their male relative, Bheki Ngcobo, by using witchcraft. They kept the deceased in their home for several hours, torturing them during this time,” Kara said.
“Smangele in particular, was assaulted and had boiling water poured into her ears and all over her body. After they were killed, their bodies were disposed of in the KwaDabeka area.”
It has been reported that the victim’s bodies were found packed in a suitcase along Lwandle Drive in KwaDabeka near the uMngeni River on October 6, 2020.
In court, State Advocate Gugu Xulu led the testimonies of their two co-accused who had pleaded guilty to the offences, as well as the evidence of the medical doctor, who confirmed that Smangele had died of head and soft tissue injuries and possible strangulation, while Sbongakonke died of strangulation.
In victim impact statements, the deceased’s family described the devastation and void in their family following the brutal murders.
In addition to life, Slindile was sentenced to five years imprisonment for each of the two counts of kidnapping, and six years imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice.
Her daughter Andile received the same sentence.
Explaining the sentence, Kara said: “The court ruled that the kidnappings and defeating will run concurrently with the life imprisonment, resulting in an effective term of life imprisonment.”
In July 2021, taxi driver Nicholas Sithembiso Lamula, 42, a father of two, pleaded guilty to two counts of being an accessory to murder in the Pietermaritzburg High Court by dumping the bodies of Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter in October.
He was jailed for six years.
