Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Eastern Cape High Court in Mthatha has convicted 45-year-old Yibanathi MacGyver Ndema for the murder of his wife, Noluvuyo Nonkwelo, whose remains were found buried under a bathtub in their Zingqayi home in 2019.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Ndema was found guilty of five charges relating to the murder.
“The court found him guilty on charges of murder, acts with intent to defeat the course of justice and three counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm,” said Tyali.
State prosecutor Advocate Sibusiso Nolutshungu led evidence from, among others, the deceased’s father, who told the court of a marriage characterised by physical abuse and subsequent apologies from Ndema.
Judge Buyiswa Majiki found that the state proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and noted that the prosecution had invoked the provisions of premeditated murder, which attracts the minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
The court heard that Ndema murdered Nonkwelo on 1 July 2019, and on 3 July he reported her as missing to the police.
“The marriage had been marred by domestic abuse, with the court convicting Ndema of 18 September 2018, 22 January and 27 June 2019 assaults on his wife. The assaults were by a stick, clenched fists, open hands, burning her with hot water and pulling her [by] her hair,” said Tyali.
The NPA said the deceased only opened a case once of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against Ndema. She was granted a protection order in January 2019. But both the case and the protection order were later withdrawn.
Ndema was arrested in August 2021 after Nonkwelo’s remains were found buried underneath a bathtub in the bathroom of the house the couple shared.
“The couple’s children alerted their grandparents that the bathtub had been repositioned since their mother’s disappearance. That prompted the police to search Ndema’s home, leading to the discovery of the remains,” said the NPA.
DNA results confirmed that the remains were those of Nonkwelo and were released to her family for proper burial.
“Postmortem results revealed that the deceased died because of a fractured neck,” said Tyali.
Ndema initially abandoned bail, but later made a U-turn and applied for bail, which was successfully opposed by the prosecution.
“During the trial, he pleaded not guilty. He also distanced himself from a confession he made to the police, admitting that he had strangled his wife to death because she was having an extramarital affair, necessitating a trial-within-a-trial. The court ultimately admitted the confession and the disputed pointing-outs,” said Tyali.
News24 previously reported that Nonkwelo worked as an HIV/Aids lay counsellor at the Dutywa Health Care Centre.
Her family previously told News24 that she had a miscarriage in 2018 after her husband allegedly attacked her.
During an interview, Nonkwelo’s 61-year-old father, Mpendulo Nonkwelo, claimed that she suffered a miscarriage due to the abuse. He also revealed that his daughter was in the process of getting a divorce when Ndema reported her missing.
“That boy kept dodging me since the day of my daughter’s disappearance. He never said anything. I concluded that he killed her,” the father said.
Presentencing procedures will be heard on 2 October, the NPA said.
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