Police are investigating after a 34-year-old man who assaulted an elderly woman, was later murdered.
Mildred Khowa (85) of Manzamhlophe in Izingolweni was alone at her home on March 10 when she was set-upon by Sphelele Mbali.
Prior to the attack, he had asked her for food. She told him that she hadn’t cooked and could give him a fruit.
“When we went inside the house and as I was taking bananas to give to him, he went straight to my bedroom, searched under my mattress and asked me for money. I asked him what for and he told me he was going to Johannesburg and he needed money. He took R500 and said he wanted more because it was not enough.”
Khowa added Mbali turned violent and pushed her against a door and she fell.
She added, he then threatened to kill her and slit her throat if she didn’t give him more money.
“He took a knife and stabbed me on my back. When I fell again, he started kicking me while I was down. He slapped me and took a towel from the bed and strangled me. He kept saying he wants nothing but money. He also pushed me against the fridge and took a stick and hit me on the head. He then left.”
Khowa said that Mbali always came around as he was a relative. She added he had come a few days before the incident and she had given him R10.
Mbali was later killed at his house, also in Izingolweni, after becoming violent.
His sister-in-law Babalwa Mbali said he returned home at about 16:00. “He locked himself in a room and we could hear him breaking everything inside. He turned the room upside down and when he came out he had a spear in his hand. He tried to stab his father, luckily he managed to duck.”
Police confirmed the incident.
“Mbali who was allegedly in possession of a spear during the dispute was fatally injured during the altercation by the suspects. Two people, aged 27 and 60, were arrested and charged with murder. The investigation is ongoing.”
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