Kempton Park murder and kidnapping trial resumes as key witness testifies
Mandlankosi Galadla is alleged to have lured women to open fields before killing them and burning their bodies.
The trial of Mandlankosi Galadla resumed in the Kempton Park Regional Court on November 24.
Galadla faces multiple charges, including murder, kidnapping, rape and aggravated robbery, linked to an alleged two-year crime spree in Kempton Park between 2020 and his arrest on October 28, 2022.
According to court records, Galadla allegedly lured women to open fields, where he murdered them and set their bodies alight. The known victims were aged between 19 and 40.
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In 2009, he was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for murder and rape, but was later released after successfully appealing his conviction.
During proceedings, a witness who asked not to be identified testified about the day he learnt of Stanly Mtshali’s death. He told the court that on July 26, 2020, he was called to the family home in Tembisa, where Mtshali and his daughter, Matsieng Mokoena, lived.
“I found Mtshali lying on the floor in the dining room, face up, and he had already died. I also discovered that his daughter was nowhere to be found,” he said.
He explained that a tenant had discovered Mtshali’s body after finding the door open. He said he immediately noticed that Mokoena and a blue VW Polo hatchback were missing.
“I asked everyone if she knew how to drive, but they told me she didn’t,” he said.
He checked the house for signs of forced entry but found none. When he went outside to ask neighbours for information, he was told the car had been seen near the industrial area.
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He later found a man known as Jesus, who claimed he had bought the vehicle from Mtshali on Friday, July 24, two days before Mtshali was found dead.
Jesus allegedly showed him a copy of Mtshali’s ID and the car papers, and named two witnesses: Mokoena and Galadla. He asked Jesus and the other buyers if they knew Mokoena’s whereabouts.
They told him a woman had been found dead near the railway line and took him to someone with more information, who confirmed that the woman matched a photo of Mokoena.
The next day, the witness went to the Tembisa Police Station and was referred to the Germiston Government Mortuary, where he identified Mokoena’s body.
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“I was shown half of her body. She had a scar on her face. It looked like she had been hit with a stone or iron,” he said.
He told the court that although he did not see injuries on Mtshali’s body, his brothers later noticed scars when they prepared the body at the mortuary.
The witness testified that he knew the accused before the incident, as Galadla had once visited his home with Mtshali seeking cigarette connections.
He said he was present during Galadla’s arrest because the police had informed his sibling that Galadla was the last person seen with Mtshali on the day the car was sold.
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He further testified that items belonging to Mtshali, including a black-and-white FILA sneaker with red writing and a Polo bag, were found under Galadla’s bed when officers searched his home.
He was called in to confirm whether the recovered items belonged to Mtshali.
The matter was rolled over to November 25 for further hearing and later postponed to January 22.
