'Slain teen wanted to dump murder accused'

18.10.2012 Busi Khumalo the mother of Zanele Khumalowho was murdered at their home, at the Pretoria High Court. Picture: Etienne Creux

18.10.2012 Busi Khumalo the mother of Zanele Khumalowho was murdered at their home, at the Pretoria High Court. Picture: Etienne Creux

Published Oct 19, 2012

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Pretoria - “I never liked him because of the way he treated my friend.” This was the evidence of a close friend of murdered Zanele Khumalo, who testified in the Pretoria High Court trial of Thato Kutumela, 26.

Kutumela is accused of strangling 18-year-old Zanele on April 21 last year, in the Garsfontein townhouse she’d shared with her parents. At the time she was five months pregnant with his child.

Gaongalelewe Ganki Letoale told Acting Judge Johan Kruger that she never liked Kutumela, but there was nothing she could do about it. “Zanele was a very vulnerable person,” she said.

Letoale was, however, not allowed to testify about what her friend had told her about her relationship with the accused, as the judge ruled earlier that this type of evidence, called “hearsay”, was inadmissible.

Letoale, who lived in the same complex, said Zanele was unhappy and wanted to end the relationship, but the accused would not let her.

She saw the accused on the morning of the incident, when she left the complex. He was wearing a blue top and pants at the time.

When she came back, she noticed that he was stuffing things into his bag. He then wore khaki pants and a black top.

Letoale said she found it very strange that he was changing his clothes, as he had just come from Zanele’s house.

“I was very traumatised by her death. I am in fact still traumatised to this day.”

Letoale said Zanele, who wrote her matric the previous year, took a gap year as she was pregnant.

“She was very exited about her pregnancy. “Zanele had a thing for babies and said this [baby] was a blessing for her.

“She also did a lot of babysitting for people in the complex.”

Letoale said the two of them were going to do window-shopping that afternoon, specifically to look for babies’ clothes.

She had sent several text messages to her friend, but when she did not respond, the witness thought she was asleep.

Zanele’s father, Temba Khumalo, again took the stand on Thursday to be cross-examined by counsel for the accused.

Earlier this week he testified in tears how he and his wife discovered the body of their beautiful daughter when he had returned from work late in the afternoon. She was lying in her bed, covered with a blanket.

His daughter was naked at the time. It is claimed that the accused raped Zanele before he allegedly strangled her.

Although Khumalo could see his daughter was dead, he would not accept it and rushed her to hospital.

A doctor told him that she had already been dead for between three to six hours.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the murder, rape and a charge of robbing her of her pyjamas, robe and the panties she wore at the time. He admitted to having sex, but said when he left, Zanele was fine.

Pretoria News

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