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Zanele Mkhonto has been convicted for the murder of a police officer, Sergeant Mandlenkosi Thwala. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza
A MPUMALANGA woman has been found guilty for the murder of her cop boyfriend.
Zanele Mkhonto (30) pleaded guilty to the charge on Thursday, 2 November, at the Mbombela High Court.
She told the court that she intentionally killed Sergeant Mandlenkosi Happy Thwala (47) after aggressive sexual intercourse with him in August 2022.
Thwala, who was stationed at KaBokweni, was killed with his service pistol at his home in Pienaar outside Mbombela.
Mkhonto told the court through a statement read by her lawyer, Illana Erasmus, that she had a love relationship with Thwala since 2021.
She said their relationship was good, and she moved in with Thwala but towards the end of December 2021, they started having problems.
Zanele Mkhonto has been convicted for the murder of a police officer, Sergeant Mandlenkosi Thwala. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza
“The issues between us were trust-related and escalated to such an extent that we separated, and I moved out. The deceased and I resolved our problems in January 2022, and I moved back to his place of residence, where we stayed together until May,” she said
Mkhonto said the relationship became volatile, and she moved out as it was best for them.
She said in July 2022, they tried to resolve their problems for them and to get back together again.
ALSO READ: Woman in court for ‘shooting’ Sergeant Thwala
Mkhonto said on the day of the incident, Thwala came to her place, and they went to the shops. She said after dropping off the things they had bought, Thwala asked her to sit with him in the car. She said instead of sitting, Thwala drove her to his place.
“I was angry and wanted to stay at home. On arrival at his house, we argued and during the argument, I received a call from my previous boyfriend,” she said.
“I didn’t answer the phone, but the argument escalated to such an extent that the deceased started swearing at me, and he started to cry and said he was going to kill me and himself.”
Mkhonto continued to say that she tried to calm him down as he had his service pistol in his hand, and he was crying and upset.
Sergeant Mandlenkosi Happy Thwala was killed while sleeping on his bed.
“I took his firearm from him and put it next to his bed on top of the drawer. We had sexual intercourse, and he was very aggressive in his conduct. I asked him not to do that, and after we had intercourse, he fell asleep.”
“I was still upset with everything that had happened and didn’t know what to do as I stood there. I saw his firearm, and I walked to his side of the bed. I took his firearm, and I shot him several times while he was in bed. After I shot him, I panicked and wanted to be out of his place. I still had the firearm with me, and I took his vehicle and left his place,” she said
She further said that she threw the firearm out of the window when she was about to drive towards a roadblock.
Mkhonto also said she was remorseful about her actions and asked the Thwala family to forgive her.
The matter was postponed to 27 November for a pre-sentencing report and victim impact statements.
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