KZN mother and daughter sentenced to life for 'suitcase murder'

The family of a Durban mother and daughter who were killed by their neighbours in the “suitcase murder” case welcomed the sentencing of the killers on Thursday. 

The Durban high court sentenced Slindile Zamisa and her daughter Andile Zamisa to life imprisonment for the murder of Simangele Simamane and her 12-year-old daughter Sbongakonke Mthembu. 

In October 2020 the victims’ bodies were found stuffed in a suitcase that had been dumped in KwaDabeka. Upon investigation it was discovered that they had been murdered in their neighbours' house in Newlands.  

Senzo Simamane, husband and stepfather of the victims, told TimesLIVE he was relieved the case had finally reached its conclusion.  

“I’m very happy that they were given the sentence they deserved because they had clearly planned this. They have not showed any remorse, they don’t care, and from their conduct it looked like this was not the first time they did something like this. It looks like it’s something they had been doing and getting away with, so I’m happy with this outcome,” he said.  

Simamane said he was mostly relieved because he had been the first suspect and suffered great humiliation on social media and in the community.

 “It will not bring my family back but it will give me closure.”

He had earlier told the court he was receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, had been in an out of rehabilitation and was hospitalised more than six times. 

He said the matter would “haunt” him for the rest of his life as he struggles to cope with flashbacks of what he witnessed when he saw his wife's and stepdaughter’s bodies.  

The incident had also cause divisions between Simamane and his in-laws, which resulted in him being barred from the funeral as they believed he was involved in the deaths.  

Simamane’s mother Nomkhosi expressed relief that her son had been officially cleared. 

Thulisile Chemane, a neighbour and member of the ANC Women’s League, said the community was grateful for the verdict and was still shocked that a mother would commit such an act and implicate both her children. 

Zamisa’s stepdaughter Nomfundo Ngcobo, Sthembiso Lamula and a teenager, who cannot be named, were also charged for the kidnapping, murder and defeating the administration of justice for the crime. 

They were arrested separately between April and June 2021. 

Ngcobo is serving 20 years for the double murder while Lamula is serving six years for defeating the ends of justice when he helped dispose of the bodies.  

The Zamisas were also sentenced to five years each for the kidnapping of the two victims, six years for defeating the ends of justice and a life term for Simamane’s murder. The sentences will run concurrently.  

The court found that Slindile had acted alone in murdering the child and she was given a further life sentence that would not run concurrently with the other sentences, thus facing double life sentences in jail.

In their testimonies as state witnesses, Ngcobo and Lamula detailed the crime, from luring the victims to the Zamisas' house, to interrogating them, assaulting them until their deaths and dumping their bodies in KwaDabeka. They also gave evidence on their attempts to evade arrest.  

Zamisa was said to be the “ring leader” who influenced the others to commit the crime.  

The court said it had considered the manner of the crime and the wellbeing of the accused, and balanced that with the interests of the affected parties and that of justice.  

“SA has high levels of violence against vulnerable people and both the deceased fell into this category. Both accused had ample time to reflect on their actions against the deceased and disassociate themselves from such acts. The assaults were brutal and the deaths extremely cruel. If a proper sentence is imposed it may deter others from committing this crime,” said judge Sibisi. 

The defence applied for leave to appeal both the convictions and sentences on the grounds that the accused were not present when the crimes were committed and did not participate in the dumping of the bodies. They also felt that the sentences were harsh and argued that another court may come to another conclusion. 

Defence lawyer Zeera Fareed said the accused maintained that the evidence from the state witnesses the court had accepted and relied upon had been incorrect.  

However, the court said the testimonies of all the witnesses had been dealt with at length and the defence's points were neither supported nor brought forward anything new. The application to appeal was dismissed. 

TimesLIVE