Kempton Park murder and rape trial of Mandlankosi Galadla resumes in regional court

The trial of Mandlankosi Galadla resumed in the Kempton Park Regional Court on August 12.

Galadla faces multiple charges, including murder, kidnapping, rape and aggravated robbery, linked to a two-year crime spree in Kempton Park from 2020 until his arrest on October 28, 2022.

According to court records, he allegedly lured unsuspecting women to open fields, where he murdered and burnt them. All the known victims were women aged between 19 and 40.

In 2009, Galadla was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for murder and rape.

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He later appealed the conviction, which was upheld, so he was released.

During the proceedings, regional court prosecutor Sibongile Nxumalo called Sergeant Ntsieni Marcus Nkhumeleni to testify.

Nkhumeleni told the court that on September 6, 2022, at around noon, he responded to a complaint about a murder in an open field between Transnet and Greenfield.

On arrival, he found a group of contractors, and one of them, identified as Itumeleng, led him to the body of a woman discovered while they were installing a sewage line.

The sergeant described the victim as lying on her back, half-naked, with one leg clothed and the other bare.

The court saw photographs taken at the scene.

She wore a grey track top and a maroon vest and had multiple stab wounds to her thighs.

Nkhumeleni added that it appeared she had been struck with a large stone, which was found nearby, along with a used condom.
Parts of her body and one shoe were burnt.

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Paramedics certified the woman dead at the scene. Nkhumeleni confirmed that he was the first officer to arrive. He then called for backup and handed the scene over to detectives for further investigation.

The case was postponed to September 16 for further hearing.