An axe-wielding man who killed four people in the greater Durban area by hacking them to death and decapitating three of them will have to remain behind bars for life after his appeal against his conviction and sentence failed.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) concluded that Phindile Ntshongwana was a dangerous criminal who had acted with flagrant disregard for the sanctity of human life and individual physical integrity and that jail was the best place for him.
Apart from the four people he hacked to death, he had also attempted to kill two others.
The victims were all men, walking alone at night. The injuries inflicted and cause of death were similar – hack wounds to the head and neck.
On further investigation, he was linked to two more incidents, four months earlier – an assault, with intent to do grievous bodily harm, of a man, and the kidnapping and rape of a woman on multiple occasions over three days.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court, Durban, sentenced him to four life terms.
While he pleaded not guilty to all the charges, SCA Judge Leonie Windell noted that his defence was not entirely clear.
“As best as one could discern, it was that he suffered from a mental illness and that by reason of such mental illness he lacked criminal capacity, which is a prerequisite for criminal liability,” she said.
While Ntshongwana elected not to testify during his trial and said he had no recollection of the events, he called a specialist psychiatrist, his sister and his mother to testify on his behalf.
Their testimony related to his odd behaviour and mood swings, which they believed to be indicative of his mental illness.
The trial court found that notwithstanding the fact that he had suffered from a mental illness at the time of the commission of the offences, he was criminally responsible for his actions.
During Ntshongwana’s bizarre killing spree, he killed and beheaded Thembinkosi Cebekhulu in Montclair, Durban. Two days later, he killed and beheaded Paulos Hlongwa in Lamontville, Durban.
A few days later, he kidnapped a woman who was walking in Park Street in Durban Central. What followed was a three-day ordeal during which she was kept against her will at his home and raped.
She testified that during the period of her kidnapping, Ntshongwana’s mood had changed several times and that he had, at times, made utterances that had made no sense.
He had sometimes behaved as if she was his girlfriend and accused her, among other things, of having other boyfriends, aborting his baby, killing his child by infecting the child with Aids, and causing problems between their respective families.
On the fourth day, she had managed to escape after she convinced him that she wanted to move in with him, where after he had taken her to her flat to collect her belongings.
About four months later, Ntshongwana’s bizarre killing spree started. He first killed and beheaded Thembinkosi Cebekhulu in Montclair, Durban. Two days later, he killed and beheaded Paulos Hlongwa in Lamontville, Durban.
The head of the deceased was found in a bin 1km away.
The following day, Ntshongwana killed Simon Ngidi in Umbilo, Durban. Ngidi was not beheaded but the injuries were clearly indicative of an attempt to do so.
Ntshongwana also killed and beheaded an unidentified man. His body was found about 500m from Ntshongwana’s home. A toe cap from a Nike shoe (later identified as belonging to the appellant) was found next to the decapitated body.
In between the murders, the appellant attacked and attempted to kill two other men. Both survivors testified.
Investigations by the SAPS eventually led them to Ntshongwana’s home. When they got there, a foul scent directed them to a dog kennel in the backyard. Bloodied clothes and shoes, including a Nike shoe with a toe cap missing, as well as a sharpened axe were found hidden inside the kennel.
He was arrested and, on further forensic examination, the SAPS found signs of latent blood in various places in the appellant’s en suite bathroom.
Blood was also found inside a car which he had rented from a rental company.
A psychologist testified that Ntshongwana had amnesia during the time the offences were committed and was unable to remember anything anything abouy yhem.
Judge Windell said the appellant’s early life and adolescence did not reveal any conduct disorder features. At a young age, he had been introduced to sports and had excelled at rugby. He had been a prefect at school and, by all accounts, had led by example, especially during those formative years. As a young adult, he had undertaken a professional rugby career.
“As much as some of his behaviour seemed odd, there were other facts which pointed to clear, rational and goal-directed behaviour,” she said in turning down his appeal.
Pretoria News