Nompumelelo Patricia Goncalves and her brother Nkosinathi Zungu had plenty of time to abandon their plan to murder Goncalves’ fiancé Nkosi Timmy Langa in 2020.
This was the observation by Durban high court acting judge Bonke Dumisa on Tuesday as he sentenced Goncalves, 31, and Zungu, 40, to life imprisonment for the murder of the Transnet engineer.
On September 29 2020 Langa was kidnapped from his home in Pinetown and bundled into his Isuzu X-Rider bakkie and driven to a forest in Ozwathini some 80km away by Zungu and hitman James “Ramaphosa” Mthimkhulu. The men demanded Langa's banking PIN and his assailants used his card to withdraw cash at different places.
The vehicle's tracker unit was removed, and Goncalves engaged someone to sell the Isuzu bakkie on her behalf and reported the vehicle missing.
Mthimkhulu, who had pleaded guilty for his part in the murder, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment last year for his role in the kidnapping, robbery and murder. Mthimkhulu turned state witness and testified he and Zungu strangled Langa with a cord.
He claimed Goncalves hired Zungu and him to carry out the murder because she was a victim of domestic abuse.
In sentencing the siblings, Dumisa said Goncalves had kept in touch with Langa's kidnappers, who were taking him to a forest in Ozwathini where Langa’s body was dumped and later found on November 13 2020.
“She wanted to ensure that the murder plot was successfully carried out,” said Dumisa.
Goncalves, also a professional nurse, had gone against what nurses were taught to do — to preserve life — the judge said.
Dumisa said Goncalves had done many things to cover her tracks, including booking herself into Westville hospital and this was a sign that the pair had shown no mercy or remorse throughout their actions.
The judge said Zungu had also failed to inform his attorney that he had two previous convictions and also lied about his place of residence.
Dumisa also sentenced the pair to 10 years' imprisonment for kidnapping and 20 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. In addition, Goncalves was sentenced to eight years for defeating the ends of justice for reporting a false missing persons case for her fiancé and a missing car report for his vehicle.
The judge dismissed their application for leave to appeal against their sentence.
Reacting to the sentence, Langa’s sister Zodwa Langa said the family welcomed the judgment.
She said now that the case had been finalised, the Langa family looked forward to forging a meaningful relationship with Nkosi’s eight-year-old child with Goncalves.
“Though the relationship between the two families has not been exactly good, we plan to make attempts to have access to the child because she is my brother's only child and would be a reminder of him.”
She said they were also not fazed by Goncalves weeping after the sentence was handed down.
“Her family is crying for people who are still alive. What about us? We lost our mother after my brother's death as a result of the stress she went through,” said Zodwa.
Thamsanqa Maduna, 38, Langa’s childhood friend, said the murder had left him devastated.
“We have been friends since grade 4. Throughout these years we have always maintained a strong bond. It was Nkosi’s humility which set him apart. He was a successful person, but he respected us,” said Maduna.
Maduna could not recall knowing about the rifts between the couple.
“All I know is that they loved each other. This is all saddening,” he said. He also poured cold water on allegations that Langa was abusive.
“I have never heard of any squabbles between the two. But I can never know what happened behind closed doors,” added Maduna.
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