Johannesburg - She evaded the law for nine years after allegedly dousing her boyfriend with petrol and setting him alight. But the police didn’t lose hope of tracking her down, and have finally apprehended her.
It has been nine years since a warrant of arrest was issued for Mpumelelo Bridgette Zulu, who was meant to stand trial in September 2005 for allegedly killing Sandile Aubrey Ngcobo.
But, on Saturday, police received information that led them to Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, where it is believed she had been living since her release on bail. Joburg detectives travelled more than 300km to apprehend Zulu.
She is alleged to have poured petrol over Ngcobo, her then boyfriend, on February 21, 2005 near the Bree Street taxi rank.
Zulu allegedly approached Ngcobo – a taxi driver – and his friend, who were sitting inside a taxi.
According to the indictment, she then poured petrol on both of them. She allegedly lit a match and threw it at Ngcobo. He was rushed to hospital and died two days later. The cause of death was noted as “burns and associated complications”.
Zulu was arrested shortly afterwards for murder. She was granted bail and the matter was set for trial at the South Gauteng High Court in Joburg. She failed to appear before court and a warrant of arrest was issued.
Dressed in a white skirt and purple shirt, with her dreadlocks neatly held back, Zulu stood in the dock on Tuesday and said she was sorry.
“I would like to apologise to the court. I showed no respect to the law,” Zulu sobbed.
Judge George Maluleke accepted her apology and explained to Zulu that she would be given an opportunity to state her reasons why she missed her appearances. The court postponed the matter to Monday for Zulu to obtain a legal representative.
She told the court that her uncle was arranging with a lawyer to represent her.
The Star