On the evening of 11 February 2016, Leonara Walugembe (38) was brutally stabbed by three men at his residence in the Drakensview area of Estcourt. He was with his girlfriend at the time. She sustained a stab wound when tried to intervene and ward off the attack.
The victim sustained close to twenty stab wounds which proved to be fatal. Two cell phones and an undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the premises. Police were informed and a case of murder and robbery with aggravated circumstances was opened.
The case docket was assigned to Estcourt Trio Task Team for investigation. Thorough and swift detective work resulted in two of the three suspects being arrested in the Estcourt area. The third suspect later handed himself over to detectives. All three of the accused appeared in the Estcourt magistrates’ court where they pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them.
Bail was opposed by the investigating team and they were remanded in custody while the investigation continued. Once the investigation was finalized the case docket was transferred to the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The accused stood trial and the case was finalized on 6 July 2017.
The first accused, Hendy Couch (37) was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for robbery. The second accused, Velaphi Ernest Sikhakhane (32) and third accused Thembinkosi Thubalakhe Ngubane (25) were both sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for murder and 15 years imprisonment for robbery.
KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa welcomed the sentence handed down to the accused and praised the detectives for their good work. “We praise our detectives who conducted an investigation properly that led to the conviction of the accused. We hope that this sentence will send a strong message to other would-be criminals,” he said.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
