Grandfather backtracks after implicating his grandson in brutal stabbing

The grandfather of a man alleged to have butchered his ex-girlfriend took to the stand in the Protea Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday‚ where he backtracked on a statement he made to the police in which he implicated the young man in the crime.

Thomas Khumalo was taken through a statement he gave to a detective in March last year‚ where he alleged that his grandson‚ Nkululeko Khubeka‚ had confessed to killing Nonhlanhla Phangela.

Phangela was brutally killed in March 2017‚ allegedly at the hand of Khubeka‚ the woman’s ex-lover. She was stabbed close to 30 times.

“She was stabbed twice in the heart‚ in the neck‚ belly button and 22 times on her back‚” said Phagela’s uncle‚ Musa Kganyago‚ told SowetanLIVE about a month after the murder. Details of Khumalo’s statement were pored over in court on Thursday.

In the statement in question‚ Khumalo was quoted as saying that he found his grandson trying to commit suicide as he was distraught by what he had done.

"I loosened the rope which was around his neck and asked my granddaughter‚ Simphiwe‚ to bring some water. I sprinkled it on him [Khubeka]‚” Khumalo’s statement read. “He woke up and said‚ ‘Please grandfather forgive me because I have just killed my girlfriend’.”

The statement read that Khumalo claimed his grandson had repeated the confession about five times‚ making him realise the youngster had done something bad.

But on Tuesday‚ an elderly Khumalo denied the contents of his affidavit.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Mike Hlatshwayo‚ Khumalo denied that his grandson had tried to take his own life. Instead‚ the alleged that the man was simply shaken up after he and his girlfriend were attacked as they walked in an open veld.

In his statement‚ Khumalo was alleged to have said that they had summoned the police to the home following Khubeka’s confession.

“We pointed him out to the police as the person who told us that he is the one who killed the deceased‚” it read.

But Khumalo said this‚ too‚ was false. He alleged that when the police arrived‚ they pointed Khubeka out to say he was in the company of the deceased but they did not say he was the murderer.

A trial-within-a-trial ensued to try and establish if the contents of Khumalo’s disputed statement could be accepted as evidence.

The police officer who took down the statement was called to the stand.

Warrant Officer Mbudzeni Kwinda‚ who has over 23 years of experience‚ said the elderly man had volunteered the information.

But in a knock to the State’s case‚ Kwinda told the court that while the statement was commissioned‚ Khumalo was not told to take an oath.

“It was not necessary for him to take an oath according to the police procedure… When you finish taking the statement‚ you sign. Immediately when you sign‚ you are confirming that this is your statement and you have not submitted it under duress‚” he told the court.

Khubeka‚ 25‚ who was arrested for Phangela’s murder‚ has pleaded not guilty to the charge. He has alleged that as he accompanied his former girlfriend home‚ they were attacked by a knife-wielding man.

His version to the court is that he fled‚ leaving Phangela behind‚ after she had shouted‚ telling him to run.

Her uncle Musa said she had last been seen heading to her ex-boyfriends home to collect her charger and jacket after the break-up.

“Her body was found next to the water tower between Chiawelo and Phiri [Soweto]. When I went there‚ the body was moved. The place was full of blood‚” Phangela had told TimesLIVE last year.

The court case was postponed to next month where Kwinda would return to the stand to further testify. The Phangela family expressed disappointed at the lengthy adjournment‚ saying they needed closure.

Phangela told TimesLIVE that they had hoped to have an unveiling of her niece's grave but this could not be done until the trial was finalised.

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