Small house hires hitman to kill lover's wife

Durban - It could be the plot of a torrid crime story. A mistress allegedly hires a hit man to kill her lover's wife, only for him to shoot the wrong woman.

But it gets even more complicated. The mistress confides her woes to her cousin, whom she then suspects of attempting to blackmail her. Then the cousin is lured to a remote spot where she is stabbed to death.
 
The sad saga played itself out on Friday when KwaMaphumulo businesswoman Hloniphile Ngcobo was granted R3 000 bail in the Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court. She stands accused of engineering the murder of her cousin, Nosipho Mbatha, in February.

She will, however, be remanded in custody pending another bail application in the KwaMaphumulo Magistrate's Court, for allegedly orchestrating the execution-style murder of high school teacher Maureen Khuzwayo in December last year.

Her neighbour, 32-year-old Nkosenhle Majozi, is alleged to have carried out the murders at Ngcobo's behest, and both face two charges of premeditated murder.

The only person left smiling is the alleged intended victim, the lover's wife, who is alive and well.

The story started when Ngcobo, a funeral parlour owner, became embroiled in a sordid affair with a married man. Seemingly wanting her lover to herself, she allegedly hired Majozi, a taxi conductor, to carry out the murder at the Zephania Secondary school, where her lover's wife was a teacher.

The plan went badly awry when, it is alleged, Majozi shot Khuzwayo – the wrong woman.

At the time, the killing appeared to have been an act of retribution by an angry parent after a child had failed.

When news emerged that Majozi had killed the wrong teacher, he and Ngcobo decided to go to ground, while the tight-knit community reeled in shock at the murder.

It is thought Ngcobo then confided in her cousin, Mbatha. Shortly thereafter, she allegedly received an SMS from an unknown person demanding R15 000 in return for keeping quiet and not telling the police.

Suspecting that Mbatha was behind the blackmail, she and Majozi allegedly invited her to attend a party at Inanda Dam, where she was stabbed to death. Her body was discovered at the dam several days later.

In his ruling, magistrate Kevin Bruorton said the evidence presented in the bail application linked both Ngcobo and Majozi to the murder, but that the physical act had been carried out by the latter.

"According to the investigating officer, Ngcobo suspected that the deceased had sent the SMS, and then set about organising a party at Inanda Dam where the deceased was stabbed to death… witnesses implicated applicant two (Majozi) as the one who murdered the deceased."

Bail for the two had been opposed by the investigating officer, who said both were a flight risk, and that he feared they would interfere with state witnesses, who were known to them.

"The investigating officer played his cards close to his chest with regard to the evidence that he divulged in this application. In this case, the evidence to oppose bail is stronger against Majozi than it is against Ngcobo," he added.

He said that, because Ngcobo was a primary caregiver to her five-year-old daughter and had considerable assets, it was in the interests of justice to grant her bail with strict conditions.

She is to live in Durban and may not visit KwaMaphumulo. She may not communicate with witnesses and will have to surrender her passport. The trial was set down for June 19.