Durban court hears of 'scorned' woman's plot to kill husband-to-be

Durban - BLAMING her husband-to-be for the death of their newborn, and suspecting that witchcraft by one of his girlfriends was the cause, a Durban woman hired hit men to kill him.

Doreen Hlangu, 41, of uMlazi, and one of the alleged hit men, Mnqobi Miya, 23, are on trial for the murder of Jabulani Hlongwa, 58, a manager at Telkom.

Hlangu and Miya are also charged with kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

According to Hlongwa’s family, who spoke to the Daily News outside court on Wednesday before the trial began, they suspected from the minute they heard that he was missing that his fiancée had something to do with his disappearance.

One of his relatives said the couple’s relationship had soured after the death of their baby, and that Hlangu blamed Hlongwa for it.

The relative, who would not be named, said Hlongwa paid lobola for Hlangu in 2016 and had performed the exchange of gifts ceremony.

She said soon after the baby’s death there were many meetings with the families’ elders to try to intervene and find a solution to their problem, but Hlangu continued blaming Hlongwa for their infant’s death. She also demanded that he pay damages of R10 000 for impregnating her, although he had already paid lobola. Damages are usually paid to a woman’s family if a man impregnates her before lobola is paid.

“He refused to pay damages because in our culture, damages are not paid if lobola has already been paid, but she still insisted,” said the relative.

According to the indictment, this angered Hlangu and led to the end of her relationship with Hlongwa.

In June 2017, she allegedly engaged the assistance of a childhood friend to arrange people who would kill Hlongwa for a fee.

On August 15, 2017, Miya and two accomplices allegedly arrived at Hlongwa’s home in Inanda, allegedly pointed out by Hlangu, and accosted him.

They allegedly ransacked his home and stole goods before he was put in his car and driven to a secluded area outside uMlazi where he was shot and killed.

His body was found a few days later.

Senior state advocate Cheryl Naidu said it was alleged that the murder was premeditated and that Hlangu, Miya and his two accomplices acted in common purpose to kill Hlongwa.

Hlangu and Miya, who both pleaded not guilty to the charges, have been in custody since their arrest in 2017, while the two alleged accomplices are still at large.

The childhood friend, who is in protective custody and cannot be named, testified for the State yesterday. He told the court that Hlangu had continuously sent him messages requesting to meet about a plan to eliminate her “lover”. He eventually agreed to meet her in uMlazi.

He said he was in the company of Miya and one of the accomplices. There, she openly spoke about the plan to kill Hlongwa.

“She said she wanted the old man she was in a relationship with to be killed, and the person who would do the job would get to take the old man’s car and money she was offering for the job. I told her straight that I would not do it and that I did not want to be involved,” he said.

Daily News