Friday, 03 February 2012

Crocodile case in court

At the time, the gruesome discovery of the body made front page news

The gruesome case of a man whose body was wrenched from the jaws of a massive crocodile has finally been put to rest with the conviction of his attacker in the Richards Bay Regional Court on Tuesday. The severely decomposed body of the 28 year-old Mvunyelwa Michael Xaba, was discovered in the Nseleni River in November 2009 following reports to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife that a huge crocodile was dragging a body up and down the river.

The Empangeni Dog Unit and the City’s Fire and Rescue team recovered the body with the help of a sniffer dog. The victim had been bound hand and foot. According to district surgeon Dr Frank van Niekerk, the skull was badly damaged, possibly with a blunt instrument and the jaw was broken. Following an article in the Zululand Observer, Xaba’s father received an anonymous phone call in connection with his son’s disappearance and contacted the Richards Bay SAP.

Murder charge
In March 2010, the 26 year-old Sandile Mkhize was arrested and charged with the murder of Xaba. The trial commenced in the Richards Bay Regional Court with Presiding Magistrate Logan Naidoo on the bench. State Prosecutor, Sharon Bux led the evidence of Xaba’s girlfriend, Nonhlanhla Gumede, who was at her house with Xaba on the day of his death. Gumede testified she dated both Xaba and Mkhize. Mkhize and a friend who was never identified, arrived at her home and the men started fighting. According to her evidence, Xaba ran out and Mkhize and his friend pursued him.

Girlfriend stabbed
Xaba later returned and stabbed her in the throat. Gumede said Mkhize and his friend then returned and assaulted Xaba with bricks. She said she watched them tie his hands and wrists and carry him off. She never saw him again. A few weeks later, the body surfaced in the river. Xaba was identified by the clothes he was wearing on the day of his disappearance and the way in which he was tied up.

Mkhize pleaded not guilty and called witnesses as alibis, but Magistrate Naidoo rejected his version and found him guilty of culpable homicide. He said the State could not prove that Mkhize had the direct intention to murder Xaba but that his actions led to his death. He was sentenced to
R5 000 or two months imprisonment and a further six years suspended for five years.