Cape Town - Two men who allegedly killed an elderly couple in their home appeared in the Western Cape High Court on charges of murder and robbery.
Gcinilelitha Ngcobelothe and Lwazi Ntsibantsiba were charged with two counts of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances, for allegedly killing Rugeya Addinall and Riedwaan Addinall, both 82 years old, on January 5, 2019, in Ottery and taking items from their home.
The couple were found dead in their house in Sandown Drive, Ottery.
Masar Daniels, a neighbour of the couple on Wednesday gave testimony with regards to video footage from cameras set up at his home in Sandown Drive.
He testified that two hours of footage were missing from the evidence presented to the court. This footage had recorded hours between 12pm and 2pm on the day that the Addinalls were murdered and could not be recovered.
Advocate Nadia Ajam, for the State, alleges that the accused tied ligatures around the necks of the victims and strangled them to death. It was also found that rat poison pellets were put in the mouth of Rugeya Addinall.
Ngcobelothe was in the employ of the Adinalls as a gardener. He had brought Ntsibantsiba with him on the day the couple was murdered to assist him with work around the house.
It is alleged that Ngcobelothe gained access to the house under the pretext of doing work for the couple and secured access for Ntsibantsiba.
Together they strangled the couple, who died as a result.
The accused were also found with stolen property in their possession which belonged to the couple. This included house keys, a cordless telephone, a microwave oven, and a Bluray DVD player.
Both accused are out on bail. The State has suggested that if found guilty, they should serve minimum sentences of life imprisonment.
Advocate Mohamed Sibda is representing Ngcobelothe, and advocate Leandra Adams is representing Ntsibantsiba.