#SiamLee suspect was a 'respectful, churchgoing' youth

Philani Ntuli, who cannot be pictured at this stage.

Philani Ntuli, who cannot be pictured at this stage.

Published Feb 4, 2018

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DURBAN - RESIDENTS of uMlazi G section where Philani Ntuli, the man accused of murdering Siam Lee, grew up are shocked that the boy they knew as a “quiet, respectful churchgoer” has been charged with murder.

Ntuli, 29, now of Hillcrest, was arrested at his home last month and subsequently charged with the murder of 20-year-old Lee from Durban North.

Lee was allegedly abducted on January 4 outside a house believed to be a brothel on Margaret Maytom Avenue in Durban North. Her charred remains were found by a sugar cane farmer in New Hanover in the Midlands.

She had been receiving threats from an unknown man who had apparently also been stalking her, according to a friend. Ntuli apparently left uMlazi about seven years ago when his grandmother, a former matron at uMlazi’s Prince Mshiyeni Hospital, died.

When Ntuli’s former neighbours read newspaper reports about his alleged implication in the murder, they were stunned. He faces charges of murder, kidnapping, contravening the Firearms Control Act, reckless and negligent driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud.

On Friday, he appeared in a packed Durban Magistrate’s Court and magistrate Mohamed Motala postponed the case to next Friday, February 9.

Ntuli appeared in court without a lawyer after his attorney, Carl van der Merwe, withdrew from the case.

A former neighbour of Ntuli’s, Zakhele Xulu, 27, who grew up with him in uMlazi and knew him when he attended Bluff Christian Academy in the early 2000s, said: “I am still shocked at what Philani (Ntuli) is accused of doing.

“Although it has been a while since we last interacted, in our younger days he never showed any signs of being a violent person. But we will wait for the law to run its course before we come to a conclusion.”

Xulu remembered Ntuli as a “quiet boy who performed consistently at school and lived with his late granny, who was a strict person”.

Another former neighbour, Sandile Ngcobo, 38, has memories of Ntuli as a devout churchgoer. “I knew him to be a staunch churchgoer when he was growing up.

“Although I did not interact with him because he was younger than me, he was a quiet boy who would accompany his grandmother to church on Sundays.”

After the death of Ntuli’s grandmother when he was in his early 20s, Ngcobo said Ntuli sold the family home and moved out of uMlazi. He had rarely returned to visit after moving to Hillcrest.

It is believed that Ntuli’s father died when he was six years old, but his mother is still alive and lives in Pietermaritzburg. She was present in court on Friday.

Maurine Sibisi, 53, who knew Ntuli during his teenage years, said she was taken aback when she heard about the charges against him. “I’m shocked to hear of the allegations. I remember him to be a handsome and respectful young man,” Sibisi said.

Another local, Sipho Hadebe, 51, said Ntuli had been a respectful person, especially to the elderly. “The allegations are unbelievable. But I don’t want to judge at this stage because I don’t know what happened,” he added.

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SUNDAY TRIBUNE

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