DURBAN - The three accused in the Tongaat murder have pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearm and two counts of robbery with aggravated circumstances.
The three accused, Smangaliso Michael Mayela, 21, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, 20, and Odwa Zide, 21, appeared in the Durban Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to all the charges.
They pleaded guilty to the "brutal and well-orchestrated" murder of Virathapusharam Govender, 70, who was found gagged and left behind a bed in her room with a pillow over her body. The attack happened on a farmhouse on their Spioenkop Esnembe farm, in OThongathi. Her 72-year-old husband, Steve Govender, managed to escape death by playing dead when the attackers returned to check on him.
The three accused were represented by private attorney, Zanele Cele.
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Dressed in casual clothes, the same clothes they had worn during their court appearance on Tuesday, they stood at the dock with their hands behind their back, expressionless as Cele recounted the events of April 18.
In court, the trio said through Cele that they planned the 5am robbery, and one of the accused had previously worked for the Govender’s as a part-time gardener.
The trio said they gained entry into the house by jumping over an electrical fence.
As Cele read the accused’s statement which recounted theft, robbery and murder, the Govender’s family bowed their heads.
Distraught relatives outside the farmhouse in the aftermath of the murder of a 70-year-old woman. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/Africa News Agency.
There was a brief pause in the proceeding when the family was asked if they wanted to be excused, but they stayed and listened to how the tragic morning unfolded.
“The accused one told accused two and three he was hungry and went to the kitchen... Accused two strangled (Virathapusharam) until her eyes turned white,” Cele read the statement.
Govender was left with stab wounds to his head. He had been held in a choke held, and later bound at his wrists by the accused.
The trio have been convicted of stealing jewelry, a cellphone, and cash worth R10 000, which they split among themselves.
The 70-year-old woman has since been laid to rest, while her husband has recovered from his injuries.