Durban — An inspector at Tansnat bus service on trial in the Durban High Court for the murder of his estranged wife says he had nothing to do with the woman’s disappearance and murder.
Sfiso Professor Ndlovu told this to the court this week while giving evidence. He faces three charges of murder, kidnapping, and malicious damage to property in relation to the April 2020 killing of Khulukazi Ndlovu.
The State alleges that he acted with another in furtherance of a common purpose in relation to all three charges.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to all three of the State’s charges .
Khulukazi, also a Tansnat employee, had been missing for a few days when her car was found burnt and abandoned in a cemetery in Molweni.
Human remains were found inside the wreck, but the identity of the body was only confirmed six months later through DNA.
Her family had been unable to bury her because of the delay in confirming the identity of the burnt body.
Ndovu was arrested nearly six months after the charred body of Khulukazi was found.
The couple who did not have any children lived in Phoenix.
She had moved out of their Phoenix home and was renting accommodation in the area at the time of her disappearance.
“I am in no way involved in the disappearance of the deceased… I don’t have any knowledge as to what happened on 2 April 2020, I don’t know what happened on that night I was asleep and woke up the next day at 5am. I went to sleep at 9pm. When I woke up I asked Lindelani where my cellphone was and he told me that Vipes had taken it and left with it and I don’t have any knowledge of his whereabouts that night,” said Ndlovu, who began giving evidence on Tuesday.
Ndlovu explained that Lindelani was his relative who lived with them and that Vipes also lived with him after his wife had brought him home to do some work.
He claimed that around May or June, Vipes left without saying anything and had taken R16 000 cash that he was keeping in the house they all shared.
Ndlovu told the court that his wife left their marital home in December after his son had impregnated her sister. He said Khulukazi was upset about this.
He said that in February he had heard rumours that his wife was in a relationship with their co-worker and was using his (Ndlovu) car to transport her lover’s children to school.
Ndlovu said he didn't take kindly to this and demanded his vehicle back from Khulukazi and after two weeks his wife arrived home in a new Kia Picanto to drop off his car.
“I asked her who bought the car for her because she is blacklisted. She told me it was her friend who bought it for her; when I asked her who that friend was she just laughed. I asked which dealership she had bought it from and she said it was the one in Kingsmead.”
He said he was concerned that he might end up being debited for the car as they were married in community of property and he knew that his wife had a bad credit record, and he headed to the dealership to enquire.
“At the dealership I asked for the salesman who had sold her the car and we sat down and spoke.”
Ndlovu said that the salesman told him that “the boyfriend of the deceased” bought the car for her and mentioned him by name.
It was the same colleague that was rumoured to be in a relationship with his wife, Ndlovu said when he asked his wife if indeed she was seeing the man she denied it.
Ndlovu told the court that he also confronted the co-worker about this and he also denied it.
“That’s when I saw that they were playing me for a fool and they were in a relationship,” he said.
The trial continues.
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