Mother And Daughter Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Kidnapping, Killing Woman And Her12-Year-Old Daughter. Justice has been served three years after a mother and her little daughter were kidnapped and murdered.
This Monday, the Durban High Court handed down a life sentence to a mother and daughter for the kidnapping and murder of another mother and daughter.
The murders of Smangele Simamane and her 12-year-old Sbongakonke Mthembu resulted in the life sentences for Slindile Pamela Zamisa, 45, and her 25-year-old daughter Andile Pollet Zamisa.
The women lived in the same Newlands West neighborhood, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The murder occurred in October of 2020.
According to Natasha Kara, a spokesman for the NPA, they welcomed Smangele and Sbongakonke to their home on the day of the offense in the hopes of resolving a quarrel between Sbongakonke and a member of their younger family.
“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.”
On October 6, 2020, the bodies of the victims were discovered inside a suitcase along Lwandle Drive in KwaDabeka close to the uMngeni River.
In addition to the testimony of their two co-accused, who both entered guilty pleas to the charges, State Advocate Gugu Xulu also presented the testimony of the medical expert, who said that Smangele died from head and soft tissue injuries and was probably strangled, and Sbongakonke died from strangulation.
In victim impact statements, the surviving family members of the dead described the sorrow and hole that the horrific killings had left in their home.
Slindile received a sentence of life in prison, five years each for the two crimes of kidnapping, and a further six years for obstructing the course of justice.
Her daughter Andile was given 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.”
The bodies of Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter were dumped in October, and in July 2021, taxi driver Nicholas Sithembiso Lamula, a 42-year-old father of two, admitted guilt on two counts of being an accomplice to murder in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
