Two men from the Ladysmith area were wanting to purchase goats during February 2018, but ended up in a traumatic situation that cost one of them their life. In the aftermath of this incident, two suspects have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
The two men from the Ladysmith area contacted a person who was allegedly selling livestock at a market. The man promised to meet them in the Ladysmith CBD, from where he would take them to view goats. Once they met the supposed seller, he explained that the goats were in the Hobsland area and they should accompany him there. Since there was no place in the front of the bakkie, they were asked to sit in the back of the closed vehicle.
A while later, the doors of the bakkie opened and they saw that they were not in Hobsland, but rather on the banks of the Tugela River in the Colenso area.
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One of the two sensed the danger they were in and dived into the raging river. The other was caught, bound, stabbed and thrown into nearby bushes.
The two attackers didn’t count on the man who dived into the river surviving. But he did and as soon as he got out of the water, he contacted Colenso police.
An investigation was launched and the riverbank searched. The body of Siyabonga Shologu (27) was recovered by Ladysmith K9 Search & Rescue officers.
Two days later, both suspects were arrested in the Burford area. The vehicle that was used was confiscated by police. After several remands, the case was recently finalised in the Estcourt Regional Court. Xolani Mokeona (27) and Dumisani Erick Ndlovu (41) were both sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and a further four years for kidnapping. The case was investigated by Warrant Officer XD Duma of Colenso detective services.
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