Child found suckling on mother after Pinetown murder, court hears
Phiwinhlanhla Nzama is on trial at the Durban High Court for the double murder of a couple in the Nazareth area of Pinetown in 2024.
THE double murder trial of the 47-year-old man who works as a delivery driver at a Pinetown-based bakery continues at the Durban High Court on Friday, November 13.
The accused in the matter, Phiwinhlanhla Nzama, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, took the witness stand at the court on Thursday, November 12, and gave testimony in support of his pleas.
Nzama, who has pleaded guilty to the third count in the matter, failure to lock away a firearm in a prescribed safe, is accused of murdering a mother and her boyfriend, the child’s father, on April 14, 2024, at rental cottages in the Nazareth area in Pinetown.
The investigating officer in the matter, Pinetown SAPS Detective Sergeant Noelin Chetty, said the mother was shot at point-blank range, allegedly by Nzama.
“The child was found still suckling on her mother, and the child was covered in blood,” said Chetty, who believes there is enough evidence to strengthen the State’s case against the accused.
On Thursday, the child’s maternal and paternal grandparents attended the trial.
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The maternal grandmother said the child was almost two years old at the time of the incident and now lives with her.
“The murderer has no conscience. What are we going to tell this child as she grows up?” she lamented, adding that after the incident, the child used to have trouble sleeping but appears to be doing okay now.
The child’s maternal grandmother said raising a grandchild while dealing with health complications comes with its challenges. She added that the incident had inflicted “a severe wound that will not heal”.
The child’s paternal grandmother also spoke about the trauma caused by the incident.
On Friday, the State, led by Advocate Rakesh Singh, was due to continue cross-examining Nzama, who is defended by Advocate Patrick Mkumbuzi.
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