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- A 60-year-old security guard from Umgababa, south of Durban, has been sentenced to two life terms for the murder of his elderly boss and one of her employees.
- Patrick Mhlongo confessed last week to the murder of Moni Sophi Xulu, 81 and her employee, 61-year-old Zanele Doris Mbuso on Women’s Day, 9 August.
- The accused claimed the devil made him commit the murders.
A 60-year-old security guard found guilty of the murder of two elderly women from Umgababa, south of Durban, claimed the devil made him commit the crime.
Patrick Mhlongo appeared in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Monday for sentencing proceedings.
He pleaded guilty last week to the double murder of eThembeni crèche owner Moni Xulu, 81, and one of her employees, 61-year-old Zanele Mbuso, on Women's Day, 9 August.
Mhlongo opted to take the stand in mitigation of sentence during Monday's proceedings,
The father of five told Judge Nompumelelo Radebe that he approached Xulu for a job in 2014 and that she had employed him and allowed him to stay in an outbuilding next to her daycare centre, free of charge.
He told the court he took his boss into his confidence, revealing that he was broke, had no family, and that his family home was destroyed during the ANC-IFP conflict in 1994.
He said:
He said two weeks prior to the murders, he heard his name during office gossip.
He told the court that he confronted Xulu and Mbuso on 9 August when the women arrived at the crèche to prepare for a meeting of local daycare centre owners the following day.
"I told Xulu that it hurt that everyone knew my family story and that they were laughing at me. She apologised for sharing my secret with others but said there was nothing else she could do," he told the court.
Mhlongo said he then turned his attention to Mbuso as "she had been spreading lies that I stole food meant for the children at the crèche."
"I told her I was not stealing food as I did not have the key to the kitchen. Her response infuriated me," he said.
He fumed when the women ignored him and started talking to each other.
"I got angry and walked to my security room, seeking revenge for how they were treating me.
"I took my nunchucks [two sticks joined by a cord or chain used as a weapon] and a rope to assault both Xulu and Mbuso."
He said he hit Xulu first, striking the back of her head.
"She fell down almost immediately. She cried only once and did not move again. The devil overwhelmed me. It all happened very fast," he said.
He said Mbuso attempted to flee the daycare centre through the kitchen, but he ran after her and caught her.
"She [Mbuso] said I had killed ugogo [Xulu], and the devil whispered that I should kill her as she was a witness to the murder," he continued.
He said he hit Mbuso with his nunchucks and then strangled her.
"She attempted to struggle by stomping her feet, but she lost her strength very fast and succumbed [to death]."
READ | KZN security guard admits to killing crèche boss, assistant in revenge plot over spilled secret
He said the double murder occurred in the early hours of the morning, and "a demon" prompted him to dig a shallow grave next to the daycare centre before Xulu's other employees arrived.
It took a week for the police to locate the bodies of the women.
Mhlongo admitted to the court that he had initially lied by claiming that the women were last seen entering an e-hailing taxi.
He also confessed to stealing the cellphones of the deceased.
Mitigation and aggravation of sentences
Mhlongo pleaded for leniency, saying he did not flee the area of Umgababa after the attack and claimed he was sorry.
His lawyer, Amanda Hulley, asked the court to "consider an element of mercy."
She said:
State prosecutor Mbongeni Mthembu argued that the accused was not remorseful.
Mthembu said Mhlongo was an "ungrateful and selfish person."
The prosecutor said Xulu had taken Mhlongo in when he had no one and gave him a job and shelter.
"The aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors in this matter. You do not kill people because they have gossiped about you," he said.
He said:
Mthembu said he did not believe that Mhlongo was remorseful as he did not apologise to the families of the deceased prior to his arrest.
Radebe said at his age, Mhlongo was expected to lead an exemplary life, but instead, he was a liar and a murderer.
"He claimed that he hit Mrs Xulu only once in the head and that she did not wake up after the hit. However, the postmortem found that Mrs Xulu's death was consistent with strangulation."
Radebe agreed with the State that the accused was not remorseful.
"His testimony has been all about him," she said.
Radebe added that there were no substantial and compelling reasons justifying deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence.
She handed down two life terms for the double murder and three years for the theft of the cellphones.
