The Tsomo Regional Court has sentenced traditional leader (inkosi) Masibonge Magodla to life imprisonment after convicting him of the murder of an elderly man he accused of bewitching him.
The man’s great-grandchild, 5, discovered the 94-year-old’s bloodied body at his home in the Magodla area in the district of Ngqamakhwe, Eastern Cape. The great-grandchild then alerted the deceased’s daughter who had just come back from a funeral on April 19, 2022.
National Prosecuting Authority Eastern Cape spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said that at the time of discovery, no one had any idea who had committed the offence because it had happened during the day when most people in the rural village were at a funeral.
While community members had gathered in the homestead of the deceased, waiting for police and relevant stakeholders, a young man had approached a family member.
He had revealed that during the early morning, Magodla, 35, had approached him and other young men to assist him in carrying out the murder of the deceased. He had said he was being strangled by the old man in his sleep.
He had further revealed the names of men who had been present when the chief had made the request to them, and they had confirmed his version.
Tyali said the investigations were conducted and during investigations, the clothes that the Magodla was wearing on the day in question were taken for DNA analysis. The results had confirmed the deceased’s blood was on his shoes and the jacket.
With the lab results linking Magodla to the offence and witness statements placing him, with a weapon, at the scene of the crime, the police had arrested him and the State had successfully opposed bail.
During the trial, Magodla had pleaded not guilty, raising an alibi. Regional court prosecutor Tando Ndzube had led the evidence of eight witnesses and handed in the post-mortem report and DNA analysis report.
Five of the eight witnesses who had testified were the young men whom the accused had approached to commit the murder.
“They told the court how the accused was angry when they did not want to carry out his request and told them he would do it himself. Two of the eight State witnesses were the family members of the deceased who revealed that the accused, as the traditional leader, advised them not to wait for the police but instead, to call a hearse,” Tyali said.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the young men who had refused to commit the crime as instructed by the traditional leader and helped solve the case, becoming the State’s main witnesses.
“The National Prosecuting Authority daily prosecutes hundreds of such matters that affect the safety and well-being of our communities and ensure justice for victims of crime, more especially the vulnerable elderly people who find themselves preyed upon by those who wield power, such as Inkosi Magodla,” Tyali said.
In a different matter, self-proclaimed prophet and traditional healer Mthokozisi Cyril Mdlalose was sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment for rape.
Investigations by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit detective have proved three cases of rape beyond a reasonable doubt and convinced the Nquthu Regional Court to hand down that sentence plus an additional 30 years behind bars. Mdlalose, 37, learnt of his fate on Wednesday (August 21).
Mdlalose’s first rape was in October 2020 when he masqueraded as a prophet and gave a girl, 18, a false prophesy that she was bewitched and her days on Earth were numbered. He instructed the victim to come to his eMadresini home so that he could reverse the curse. The victim told her mother who believed the “prophet” and allowed her to go see him.
He told the girl to lie on her back and applied some ointment on her body before raping her. After the ordeal, he instructed the victim not to tell anyone.
Eleven days later, he raped her again.
Believing that he got away with the first rape, Mdlalose used the same modus operandi to lure another victim, a 15-year-old girl, to his house where he instructed her to undress herself before raping her several times in February 2022.
In August of the same year, Mdlalose pretended to be a traditional healer. An unsuspecting mother took her daughter, 18, to him for cleansing. Mdlalose took the victim to the river where he instructed her to bath.
By the time she finished bathing, he had put a towel on the floor where he ordered her to sit and he applied his muti on her head and ears. The victim fell unconscious. When she came to, Mdlalose was nowhere to be found and she then realised that she had been raped.
The investigating officer was able to connect the dots and positively linked Mdlalose to the rape of the three young women.
Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi praised the quality investigative work by the investigating officer and applauded the court for handing down the ultimate sentence.
“The sentence comes in a month in which the country is honouring and paying attention to all the efforts and sacrifices made by women in our society. Sentences such as this encourages our investigators to put more effort and leave no stone unturned, knowing that the court will remove those who abuse women from society for good,” said Mkhwanazi.
Mdlalose was also declared unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
Traditional healer Dabulamazwe Zulu, speaking to “The Star” on Thursday, said the traditional healers were ruining the dignity of the craft. She condemned such evil acts.
Zulu questioned where some traditional healers’ “ubuntu”, adding that people went to them to seek healing and not be abused.
“What happens to your consciousness if you abuse a patient that was given to you by your ancestors to heal? You rape them? Isn’t our calling to heal and help people. I am encouraging each and every traditional healer to respect and help people who go to them for help. If you fail to help people please allow them to seek help elsewhere,” Zulu said.
The Star
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