Law book and judge’s gavel File Picture
Durban - The families of two KwaZulu-Natal pensioners, who were murdered in August, are hoping for justice.
Zanele Mbuso, 62, and Monica Xulu, 70, from uMgababa on the South Coast, went missing on August 9.
They were found murdered and buried in a shallow grave outside the crèche that they worked at.
A security guard, Thokozani Mhlongo, 60, who also worked at the crèche, was arrested for the murders.
Mhlongo appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on October 19 and pleaded guilty to the murders.
He will be sentenced today. Dawn Gounden of Renegade Search and Rescue and spokesperson for the Mbuso family, said the family were battling to deal with the loss.
“They are saying that Thokozani’s guilty plea does not justify his actions to harm two vulnerable women.”
Tshepo Xulu, Xulu’s grandson, said they had some closure now that Mhlongo had pleaded guilty. “There must be a lesson to all who harm women.”
In his plea, Mhlongo said he met Xulu in 2014 when he approached her for employment as she owned a daycare (centre) in the area.
Mhlongo confided in her that he had no family and that his home was destroyed in 1994 and asked Xulu to keep that a secret. Xulu employed him as a security guard at the daycare and he lived in the outbuilding for free.
During this time he also met Mbuso, who was in charge of the crèche’s kitchen. Earlier this year Mbuso accused him of stealing food from the kitchen, he said. In August, he heard people discussing his background. He asked Xulu about this and she apologised for divulging his secret. When he heard more people speaking about him, he confronted Xulu on August 9.
At some stage Xulu and Mbuso came to the daycare. He first approached Xulu saying it hurt his feelings to hear people talking about him. She told him there was nothing that she could do about it and she was tired of him stealing food from the kitchen. He asked Mbuso why she lied about him stealing food, but the women ignored him. Mhlongo said this angered him and he decided to exact revenge. He first strangled Xulu and then tied Mbuso’s hands and legs and strangled her. He dug a shallow grave and buried them.
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