Cape Town - The trial of the woman who allegedly conspired to kill her husband with three others is in its final stages at the Western Cape High Court, where the four appeared on Thursday.
Patience Kwaza, 42, Loyiso Ludidi, 36, Thando Chwayi, 26, and Sivuyile Shasha, 41, are charged with six counts of conspiracy to commit murder and robbery, murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and defeating the ends of justice.
The State, represented by advocate Phindile Sityata, alleged that the four conspired and worked together to plot the murder of Kwaza’s husband, Pasika Kwaza, who was killed on June 23, 2016 in Khayelitsha.
It is the State’s case that Kwaza got wind of a plot by her husband to have her killed but decided to take action beforehand and made arrangements of her own. Kwaza shared a home with her husband and his son, Lwandile Kwaza, in Kuyasa.
The State said Chwayi informed Kwaza of the plot by her husband to have her killed. As a response she then allegedly arranged with Chwayi to hire people to kill her husband instead.
Chwayi did as instructed and hired Shasha to execute the hit, who in turn enlisted the help of Ludidi to assist him.
As part of their plot, they allegedly planned a robbery as a cover up for the murder. The State said that the perpetrators would enter the home of the Kwazas, rob them of their belongings and then kill Pasika.
On the afternoon of June 23, Chwayi allegedly pointed out the house to Ludidi and Shasha for which he received payment from Kwaza. This money was then divided between the three co-conspirators.
With the victims at home that evening, the perpetrators knocked on the door and were granted access by the deceased’s son, Lwandile. Three men then entered the house, at which point they drew their firearms. It is alleged the three men were Ludidi, Shasha and another person unknown to the State.
The State alleged that they demanded possessions from the Kwazas while threatening them with firearms. They then shot Pasika in the head and made off with possessions from the home, including Lwandile’s mobile phone. The post mortem examination showed Pasika died of “gunshot wounds to the head and the consequences thereof”.
Kwaza reported the incident at Harare police station on June 28, 2016, where she said in an affidavit that she was robbed of certain belongings by unknown persons.
However, the State said that at this point “she intended for her actions to give an impression that she did not know about the incident when in truth she was part of planning the robbery”.
The State alleged that Kwaza was not the victim as she claimed to be and after the incident, she made further payments to the other accused for the murder.
Chwayi pleaded not guilty and was called to the stand by his counsel, advocate Alan Koester, where he gave testimony that he only knew Kwaza in passing but socialised with Lwandile. He said that he had no knowledge of any meetings with Kwaza and never plotted to have anyone killed.
He said he was arrested in September 2016 at his girlfriend’s home. He said police asked to search the home and he let them in. He said they asked for him by his nickname “Tayla” but he denied that anyone by that name was present.
He was then identified by another person with the police as being “Tayla”. Police then told him he was being arrested for murder.
Kwaza also pleaded not guilty to charges and insists that she is innocent. She told her legal representative advocate Christa Verster that she doesn’t know anything about this entire plot or what it entails. According to Verster, Kwaza told her she had no knowledge of the conspiracy and had no part in it.
The State has accused Ludidi of being the person who shot Pasika but according to his legal representative, advocate Inge Levendall, he said he wasn’t involved.
He told her he doesn’t know any of them and wasn’t even in Cape Town on the day of the murder but at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown).
The trial is expected to continue today.