A man, who was reportedly a gardener for an elderly couple in Ottery, has been found guilty of their murder four years after their deaths.
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In January 2019, family members found Rugeya and Riedwaan Addinall strangled in the living room of their home in Ottery. According to Sowetan Live, rat poison pellets were also found in Rugeya’s mouth.
The Addinall’s home appeared ransacked, and a cordless phone, flat-screen TV, a microwave, a blue-ray DVD player, a barbecue grill, a remote control and car keys were stolen. The items could, however, not be taken as the vehicle could not be started.
Two men, Gcinilelitha Ngcobelothe and Lwazi Ntsibantsiba, were arrested in connection with the murders and convicted in the High Court on Monday. Both were found guilty of the murders as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances.
According to Eric Ntabazalila, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the prosecution would ask the court to impose life sentences when the case commences in November. The two men reportedly turned on each other after the prosecution presented evidence. This included calling on 31 witnesses, photographs and CCTV footage.
‘Ngcobelothe, who has worked for the Addinalls as a gardener for years and who brought Ntsibantsiba to the property under the pretext that they were going to work together, told the court that he was not present when the murders happened,’ says Ntabazalila.
‘He claimed that after arriving at the property, he was asked to go buy groceries for the couple, and he later travelled to Kraaifontein to clear a blocked drain for another client of his. He found Ntsibantsiba in the deceased’s vehicle and told him the couple had left. They also left after that.’
Ntsibantsiba reportedly told the court that he never visited the Addinalls’ home, nor had he ever seen or met them prior to Ngcobelothe taking him to the house. ‘He claimed that after alighting a taxi from Delft, they walked towards the property. He further claimed that Ngcobelothe told him to wait in an open field while he went to speak to his employer so that he could bring his co-accused with him.’
‘He testified that he waited for hours and Ngcobelothe came and asked him to accompany him to do shopping for his employers. He saw the deceased’s bodies when he entered the property on their return from the shopping. He played no role in their murders. He alleged Ngcobelothe violently restrained him from leaving and threatened him if he revealed to anyone what he had seen.’
Ngcobelothe called on Marcelino Paulse to testify on his behalf, who confirmed his version that ‘he went to Kraaifontein to fix a blocked drain’. Ntabazalila says the court warned Paulse that he should return the next day so that the prosecutor could continue cross-examination. ‘He did not and a warrant of his arrest was issued, but the court instructed the police to only effect it if he failed to come to court the next time. He returned to court accompanied by police.’
‘After the cross-examination started, he went silent, and after further probing by [the prosecutor], he recanted all his evidence in chief that the accused went to fix…a drain in Kraaifontein. He confessed that his entire story had been a lie. To counter Paulse’s change of tune, Ngcobelothe, through his lawyer, promised to call more witnesses to confirm his alibi, but he did not call any witnesses.’
Following these events, Ngcobelothe then attacked the prosecution, accusing the state’s witnesses of impropriety, deceit and evidence tampering to falsely implicate him in the crimes. However, the court dismissed these allegations.
‘Many of the witnesses provided the court with CCTV footage from their houses and testified seeing the accused in the deceased’s yard and next to the vehicle,’ says Ntabazalila. ‘The police investigation also found Ngcobelothe’s fingerprints on the vehicle, and he told the court they were there as he had washed the vehicle on the day. The court also dismissed Ntsibantsiba’s version that he was an innocent bystander threatened by Ngcobelothe.’
Sentencing procedures will commence on 3 November as both accused have requested probation officer pre-sentence assessment reports.
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