‘Drunk’ sangoma pleads guilty to r@ping woman and slitting her throat because he feared she would report him.
An Empangeni sangoma admitted to slitting a woman’s neck after s*xually assaulting her.
In the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday, Lindokuhle Mzimela, 25, entered a plea of guilty to the abduction, r@pe, and murder of Philile Nzuza.
Mzimela informed the court of what had happened on the evening of December 1, 2022 in his guilty plea through his attorney Amanda Hulley.
Mzimela claimed he had been drinking alcohol all day long while hanging out with a buddy at a bar.
“We drank a case of Black Label quarts and 750ml of Smirnoff Vodka. I admit that even though I consumed alcohol on the day in question, I was able to differentiate between right and wrong, and thus act accordingly,” said Mzimela.
He claimed that he and his buddy made the decision to visit another tavern after the first one closed. They came across the victim walking alongside a guy as they traveled.
Mzimela claimed he made the decision to steal their smartphones. The man ran away as he neared them and pulled his knife.
“We asked the deceased for a cellphone and she said she did not have one. We decided that since she had no phone, we should take her and r@pe her
“I used my knife to threaten her to walk with us and we held her arms without her consent. We took her to an unfinished house structure.
“At the unfinished house structure, I told the deceased to sit on the floor. She sat. I asked her to remove her dress and she refused. I got angry and stabbed her around her stomach and chest area until she removed her dress and underwear.”
He said he raped her. Afterwards, his friend r@ped her.
“I realised that she would report us and get us arrested. I decided to kill her. I slit her throat with my knife. We waited until she was still, and ran away.”
A few days later, Mzimela said he was arrested and charged.
“When I was arrested, I co-operated immediately with the police. I admitted to committing the offences as I was very remorseful for my actions.”
Nzuza sibling Nothi referred to her sister as a devoted mother in a victim impact statement that was provided to the court by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Mbongeni Mthembu.
“She left behind her five children which she loved so dearly. My sister was a hard worker, a go-getter.”
Nothi said they were battling to come to terms with her murder.
“She was killed so violently, and left naked. Her rights were violated in so many ways.”
Judge Nompumelelo Radebe is expected to sentence Mzimela this week.
