Cop in court for killing family
2007-12-03 18:06
Grahamstown - A 36-year-old policeman appeared briefly in the Grahamstown High Court on Monday for allegedly murdering his wife and two young daughters.
Zuko Njobe was not asked to plead.
Njobe is accused of shooting his wife Nomthandazo, 28, and his two daughters, two-year-old Liyema and five-year-old Sinovyo, at the police married quarters in Kirkwood on May 24 this year.
The State alleges that Njobe shot them all in the head with his service pistol, as they sat on a sofa and watched television.
Court documents indicate that before the shooting, "Njobe locked the doors of the house from the inside, and closed all the windows".
All three died as the result of "perforating gunshot wounds to the head and brain".
The charge sheet confirms that Njobe then shot himself in the head, but only wounded himself.
The trial was postponed until Tuesday at the request of Njobes' lawyer, Frans Smit, in order for him to consult and take instructions from his client.
'Asked to be locked up'
According to the indictment, "during the month preceding the alleged murders they experienced marital problems".
"She (Nomthandazo) had applied for and been granted a protection order against Njobe, by a local magistrate.
"The accused suspected that his wife was unfaithful and that another man had fathered the youngest daughter, Liyema.
"In the past, Njobe had threatened to kill his wife and children, and a few hours before he allegedly killed them, he said he had been contemplating killing himself and his family."
According to court papers, when Njobe was arrested the same day, he admitted that "he had killed his family and asked to be locked up".
He was taken to hospital by the police and treated for a gunshot wound to the head.
On his release from hospital, Njobe was detained in custody until his trial.
- SAPA