Pastor raped, stabbed

2003-02-03 23:29

Sharika Regchand

Pietermaritzburg - Two of the four men charged with the murder of Pastor Makhozane Grace Khumalo and three children in Osizweni near Newcastle last year, were seen with blood on their clothes and with her vehicle after the murder.

Dumisani Masondo, 22, his two 17-year-old relatives and Nhlanhla Hendrick Msibi, 41, are standing trial at the High Court sitting in Ladysmith for the murder of Khumalo and her children Zwakele, 10, and Malibongwe, 8, and a relative, Lindokuhle Madoda Ngobese, 10.

The accused are alleged to have slit the children's throats and to have raped Khumalo before stabbing her in the throat on September 5 last year. Soon after they were arrested, Masondo and the two juveniles confessed to killing the four, but pleaded not guilty to murder at the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

They said Msibi told them to kill the pastor and the children and they obeyed because they were afraid that Msibi would kill them.

Masondo and the first juvenile pleaded guilty to robbing Khumalo of her Toyota Venture. The juvenile also pleaded guilty to kidnapping Khumalo and the children from the kwaMazitapela Church in Osiweni.

Masondo said Msibi told him that Khumalo should be raped. Masondo then raped Khumalo, followed by Msibi and the juvenile.

Khumalo was stabbed in her throat by Masondo while she was being raped. She and the children were then driven to an open field in Waterval, where Khumalo was again stabbed.

While the accused were leaving the site of the crime, they saw Khumalo walking and ran after her and killed her.

Okapi knife

The juvenile said Msibi gave him an Okapi knife and instructed him to stab one of the children.

Msibi then slit Malibongwe's throat. He said the second juvenile then slit the other two children's throats.

Msibi on Monday pleaded not guilty to all the charges that he is facing and has not disclosed his defence.

Mkhoneli Dlamini testified that he towed the Venture out of mud in the presence of Masondo and the first juvenile accused.

He said there was a third person present who he did not see. "Their clothes were dirty and full of blood," he said, adding that they appeared to be tired.

Fikile Dlamini, who is a relative of Masondo and the two 17-year-old accused, testified that on September 6, Masondo and the two youths came to her house and had something to eat. When she asked them where they had got the Venture from, they said they bought it from an old lady.

She said their clothes were full of mud and they told her that they had got stuck in mud.

- The Witness