Durban metro cop accused of stabbing Yolanda Bianca Khuzwayo left in the dock with no lawyer

The murder case against a Durban metro police officer accused of killing his girlfriend has been postponed after uncertainty about his legal representative. 

Sizwe Ngema is facing charges of murder and theft for allegedly stabbing Yolanda Bianca Khuzwayo, his pregnant girlfriend, and making off with her cellphone in a flat on Joseph Nduli Street on Easter Sunday.

He allegedly took pictures and videos of the victim’s final moments, with the knife still stuck in her body, and distributed them to several people and on social media.

Ngema made his second appearance in the Durban magistrate’s court on Tuesday, where Legal Aid was expected to announce its decision on representing him.

It had previously asked for time to verify Ngema’s employment status to determine whether he qualified for state representation before he could apply for bail.

However, a lawyer told the court she was a stand-in for another lawyer who could not make it to court on the day. She left before the matter was concluded.

Meanwhile, Legal Aid said it was still verifying if Ngema qualified for free legal representation and a decision would be communicated on Thursday.

The matter was postponed to April 15 for the defence to work out its representation.

The victim’s family told TimesLIVE they believed Ngema was using the issue of his legal representation to delay proceedings.

“This man knows the law, and if he doesn’t then he is surrounded by people who do. I feel like this is another technique to hurt us, because why does he not represent himself if he can’t get one because he has that right? He wants us to suffer more because every time we go to court we have to relive that moment,” said Nozipho Khuzwayo, the victim’s aunt.

She said the family was still coming to terms with the incident, considering they didn’t get to deal with the matter privately.

She said she was traumatised when preparing her niece's body for the funeral.

“There was no part of her body without stab wounds, she had wounds even towards her private parts. How do you do that?” she asked.

“I even refused for my sister to go and help washing the body. She wanted to, but I told her it was not a good idea. When I came back I was so traumatised, but I’m only processing my trauma now because I had to be strong for my sister.”

TimesLIVE