Osizweni loan shark, Sthembiso Mlambo’s application for a Section 174 discharge was refused in the Madadeni High Court on December 4.

Between them, Mlambo and his co-accused, Sihle Ngwenya and Ayanda Ngwenya, face five counts, including the murder of Mlambo’s estranged wife, Sithembile Khumalo, conspiracy to kill Madadeni District Court magistrate, Ephrahim Khanyile, failure to safely lock away a 9mm firearm as required by the Firearms Control Act, conspiracy to kill the head of Waterval Prison, Daphné Hendricks, and the attempted murder of Hendricks and another.

Mlambo has been in custody since October 11, 2023, in connection with the murder of Khumalo, a paramedic who was gunned down in May that year, while driving home from the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) base in Utrecht.

A post mortem examination revealed that Khumalo sustained five gunshot wounds to the face, head, neck and shoulder.

Mlambo was investigated as a person of interest in Khumalo’s murder after a prison informant made a statement saying he was present when Mlambo planned the hit.

The informant alleged that Mlambo planned the murder in Waterval Prison while he was awaiting trial for a case of intimidation, theft and malicious damage to property.

According to the investigating officer in the murder case, Siphephelo Mngomezulu, Khumalo was a witness in that case.

Khumalo was alone in her vehicle when she was gunned down. According to Khumalo’s romantic partner, Michael Khumalo, the gunmen took nothing but her life.

“Her wallet, bank cards and cellphone were still there,” said Hlongwane.

In the days before she was murdered, Khumalo visited the Amajuba SAPS cluster office where she expressed her terror for Mlambo, as well as her certainty that he was going to have her killed.

She also sent text messages to her loved ones, saying, “The izinkabi (hitmen) … have started to arrive and I am living in hiding now.”

With each and every state witness that testified against Mlambo, it appeared that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

One of Mlambo’s fellow inmates at Waterval prison testified that Mlambo didn’t just want his estranged wife killed, but his daughter as well.

Another of Mlambo’s inmates testified that Mlambo had most of the prison warders in Waterval in his pocket, and they gave Mlambo special treatment while he was incarcerated, even smuggling cellphones into his cell.

He further testified that Mlambo asked his current wife, Lerato, to offer a bribe to the prosecutor who opposed his bail application, Ms Smith, and ordered a hit on Smith, as well, when she refused to accept the bribe.

At the start of the trial on Tuesday, May 20, all three accused pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all counts. Last week, they put forward an application to be acquitted of the charges, claiming that the state had failed to mount sufficient evidence against them upon which a reasonable person would convict.

Their application was refused by presiding officer, Judge Bruce Bedderson, and the trial in the Madadeni High Court is scheduled to resume on May 18, when the defence to make its case.

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