Kimberley – The Soul City resident, who has been accused of murdering his wife before disposing of her body in a shallow grave, believes that his partner was killed by toxic beer, given to her by a disgruntled drug dealer.
This was one of the revelations in the Northern Cape High Court on Tuesday as the trial of 39-year-old Mzwandile Nqozi continued.
Nqozi has been in custody since his arrest in April last year after the remains of his 34-year-old wife, Kerileng Mavis Nyathi Nqozi, were found in a shallow grave, wrapped in a carpet, in Soul City. She was reported missing by her husband a few days earlier.
Three witnesses took the stand during Tuesday’s proceedings, with the court first getting details about the autopsy, where blunt force trauma to the head was given as the probable cause of death.
However, with the remains already in a decomposed state, the forensic pathologist stated that the victim’s body was never tested for the presence of toxins.
According to Advocate Pierre Fourie, appearing for the defence, Nqozi has denied any involvement or knowledge of his wife’s death. According to the accused’s submission, Kerileng was allegedly poisoned by the State’s third witness, his neighbour, Lahliwe Mamane.
Mamane, 50, said in her testimony that she had seen the accused walking down the road, between 12:30am and 1am on Wednesday, April 14 2016, struggling under the weight of a large black bag which he was carrying over his shoulder.
While she conceded that she did not suspect at the time that the deceased might have been in the bag, she noticed that the accused was having difficulty supporting the weight of the load as they greeted each other when he walked past.
Mamane added that when she enquired about the contents of the bag a few days later, Nqozi told her that it was filled with clothing.
“The next time I saw him was on the Sunday morning (April 17). He was fixing a fence and I called him over and asked him where Kerileng was,” the witness recalled.
“I asked whether he had been to the police or hospital to report her missing and he said he was on his way to do so.”
The witness added that while the deceased was a very heavy drinker, who consumed alcohol on a daily basis, she remained a devoted mother who would not disappear without making provision for her two young children.
“No matter how drunk she got, she never left her children. They were always at her side.”
However, during cross-examination, Fourie disputed much of Mamane’s testimony, submitting that the witness was either mistaken or lying.
He pointed out that the description of the bag that Nqozi was said to have been carrying on the night in question, did not match the bag containing the remains of the deceased.
“The deceased was found in a green bag with a motif that appears to say ‘Africa’,” the defence advocate said. “This is not the same bag you saw the accused carrying."
“According to the accused you could not have seen him on the Sunday at 10am, as you testified, because he was at the Kagisho police station opening a missing person’s case."
“It appears to me that you kept on going back to the accused and pressured him as if he knew where the deceased was."
“He believes that you had the impression that he was involved, which is why you encouraged the community to say the same. He knows nothing about her disappearance and did not kill her.”
According to Fourie, his client claims that Mamane was a drug dealer and recruited the deceased to assist her by storing some of the drugs on her property.
While the witness vehemently denied the allegations, Fourie said that it was his client’s intention to put an end to this collaboration and this eventually resulted in the death of the deceased.
“My client says you were angry because he stopped his wife from keeping pills for you. He says that he has information that you had her killed by giving her poisoned beer. This beer was bought in a can, heated and cooled in such a way that it became toxic."
“He also says you met with a sangoma to ensure that you would not get into trouble,” Fourie told the court.
The sister of the deceased, Maria Nyathi, also testified yesterday in an emotional account which resulted in an adjournment to allow the witness to regain her composure.
Like Mamane, Nyathi said that her sister would not have abandoned her children.
“I first heard that my sister was missing when I received a call from the accused,” she said.
“He said that my sister was missing and asked if I could take the children. I told him to make another plan as I was on my way to work but would see him that afternoon. When I got to the house he was there with the two kids.”
According to the witness, the accused told her that they were involved in an argument, but he then went to bed.
“When he woke up my sister was not there. I told him my sister would never leave her kids behind.”
According to Fourie, his client did make the call but claimed it was to find out whether the deceased was with her sister.