Wife of slain Umlazi cop and school principal in bid for bail

Two of the three suspects nabbed in connection with the murder of eThekwini metro police captain Thomas Ntombela, including his wife, launched their bail bid at the uMlazi magistrate's court on Wednesday.

Ntombela was gunned down at his uMlazi home on May 3.

Faith Nongcebo Ntombela, 43, and Sthembiso Khumalo, 53, are charged alongside Khulani Cele, who is serving a life sentence at a Kokstad prison for a different murder conviction.

A hitman, Mzo Ntombela, who was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by Durban high court judge Kate Pillay in August, implicated the trio during his trial.

Ntombela's laywer Ashwin Rughbeer told the court his client intends to plead not guilty.

He said the mother has four children and was financially supporting them on her R320,000 annual salary, which she gets as a maintenance officer at the same court.

He said one of the children, a 21-year-old, is autistic and is dependent on her.

“The release of my client would in no way undermine public safety. Should bail be given, my client would not abscond,” said Rughbeer.

He said she owned a Mercedes-Benz and a Hyundai Creta.

Khumalo’s attorney Nomfundo Mthethwa also told the court that her client's continued detention would compromise his family's livelihood.

Like Ntombela, Khumalo is a father of four children and has two grandchildren whom he says are dependent on him. He earns R29,000 monthly as a school principal at Mpumulwane primary school in KwaMaphumulo.

He supplements his income monthly by about R5,000 with a panel beating business.

“My client worries that he may lose his employment as a result of his incarceration. His wife, who is also a teacher, would not be equipped to run his business should he be detained,” said Mthethwa.

She added that at the time of her client's arrest, he had fully co-operated with police.

Both the accused claimed that they had never had any brushes with the law nor any pending cases. They were also not in possession of any other travel documents.

The trio's court appearance was not without delays, which were caused by technical glitches on the court's recording devices and load-shedding.

State prosecutor Sabatha Nhlanhla asked the court to adjourn the sitting, saying investigating officer W/O Sibusiso Ntshangase had not finalised the investigations, which the state would rely on in its objection.

“The defence would be relying on this evidence for the cross-examination,” said Nhlanhla.

Rughbeer said they were ready to process with the bail application.

“We have always been ready. The challenge now is that we have not had sight of the dockets,” he said.

The matter was adjourned to December 8.

Cele, however, will only return to court on January 30.

The court appearance was marked with a steady stream of family members and community members who picketed outside court. Some sported T-shirts bearing the picture of the late captain, while others carried placards.

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