Umlazi beheading accused can't explain why victim's genitals were in his home

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Durban - One of the uMlazi teenagers accused of killing, beheading and cutting off the genitals of a 15-year-old, in an apparent revenge killing, could not explain why the teenager’s private parts were discovered at his home. Testifying over the past two days in the Durban High Court, Simphiwe “Maviva” Ntshangase denied having anything to do with the murder of Phiwayinkosi “Macala” Mhlongo in April 2017. Phiwayinkosi was allegedly abducted at gunpoint by the six accused, some of whom were known to his family. His body was found near a stormwater drain close to his home in C Section, uMlazi, and his head at a school in F Section. It is alleged that the teenagers had planned to murder Phiwayinkosi because they believed he had “sold out” Ntshangase’s brother to the police. Ntshangase’s brother was killed by a mob earlier last year as a result.

Ntshangase, Njabulo Mhlongo, Luyanda Zulu, Thulasizwe Nene, Njabulo Mbatha and Banele “Boy” Mhlongo are accused of murder and kidnapping.

State advocate Krishen Shah continued to grill Ntshangase yesterday on his version that he knew nothing about the murder and was not at the scene of the crime, but Phiwayinkosi’s penis and testicles were found in a glass vase in a plastic bag in his yard.

According to Shah, all the accused were found at Ntshangase’s home the morning after the incident, drinking alcohol. The vase, illegal revolvers, live ammunition and a bloody knife were found in the backyard where they had been sitting when the police arrived.

“Was it a coincidence that the private parts belonging to Mhlongo were found at your home? This is something unusual,” Shah said.

Ntshangase said it was possible the body parts were planted at his home because there had been a lot of people there since his brother’s funeral.

Shah told the court that the revolvers found by the police fit the description of firearms given by Phiwayinkosi’s sister, Angel, as those carried by her brother’s abductors.

“I am going to suggest to you that you are a liar. It’s not a coincidence that the firearms, the knife, the body parts and the handcuffs were found at your home in the backyard where the police found all of you drinking,” said Shah.

The trial continues.

Daily News