Thembinkosi Ngcobo, 62, was found guilty of hacking to death his girlfriend Ntombifuthi Blose and her two-year-old daughter Swelihle at his home in Mount Royal on October 30, last year.
DURBAN - THE man convicted of the murder of his girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter cried in the dock as his lawyer pleaded with the court to have mercy on him.
Thembinkosi Ngcobo, 62, was found guilty of hacking to death his girlfriend Ntombifuthi Blose and her two-year-old daughter Swelihle at his home in Mount Royal on October 30, last year.
Blose and her daughter lived in Amatikwe in Inanda and had been visiting Ngcobo when the incident happened.
The Durban High Court heard that Blose wanted to take the child to her biological father, but Ngcobo refused, and insisted that the child was his.
Ngcobo’s version in his confession statement was that he was angry because he believed that the child was his and did not want Blose to take her away to the man Blose claimed was the father.
During the argument, Ngcobo left the house to buy a bush knife.
He returned and hacked Blose and the toddler to death before he fled.
He later returned to the house and he was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
During the heads of arguments in court on Wednesday, Ngcobo’s lawyer Patrick Mkhumbuzi asked the court to consider Ngcobo’s age and the fact that what he did was done out of anger.
Mkhumbuzi argued that by hitting Blose, Ngcobo should have foreseen that he might kill her, but the court should consider that he was dealing with uncontrollable emotions.
But state advocate Denado Mcdonald disagreed, saying that Ngcobo showed to be immature for his age.
“He should have known better. At his age, he was capable of murder. He would have easily pushed her aside instead, but he decided to walk to the shops and bought a bush knife, he returned and used it on her and her daughter.
“His actions were premeditated. The kind of force used in the murders speaks for itself. The mother had 14 wounds on her body. The daughter on the other hand had eight wounds and a fractured skull,” said Mcdonald.
He said the suggestion by the defence that the sentences should run concurrently would not be ideal as the objective of the sentence was to act as a deterrent and send out a strong message to men who take advantage of women and children.
For the duration of the arguments, Ngcobo had his head down and wiped away the tears.
The matter was adjourned to on Friday for sentencing.
Outside court, Blose’s other boyfriend, Nkosinathi Ngcobo who said he was the father of baby Swelihle, said Blose lived with him in Amatikwe since she fell pregnant with their daughter.
“Even when she gave birth, she lived with me. She left on a Sunday to visit her family. I received a call on Wednesday that she and my daughter were murdered,” said Nkosinathi.
Blose’s family said they only knew Nkosinathi and not (Thembinkosi) Ngcobo.
Daily News