A day before what would have been her son’s 30th birthday, a mother broke down in tears as she looked at a photograph of the young man, shot dead during a high-speed car chase through the streets of Gqeberha after the brazen robbery of a cash-in-transit van.
Testifying on behalf of the state in the high court in Gqeberha on Wednesday, Noengland Boletyeni, 62, of Mqanduli said the last time she saw her son, Malibongwe, alive had been on May 1 2018.
Nine days later she found out he was dead.
Boletyeni said it had been nearly a week after she last saw her son, when her husband went to the nearby Kwaaiman police station for assistance.
On May 9, Boletyeni said, police officers had visited her home.
“The police arrived and asked questions. I told them my child was missing, and they then told me he had passed away,” she said.
When shown a picture of Malibongwe on Wednesday, taken at the scene where he was shot dead on the corner of Ditchling Road and Chase Drive, Boletyeni broke down in tears, prompting judge Nyameko Gqamana to adjourn the matter to allow her to compose herself.
After the short adjournment, state advocate Martin Le Roux asked Boletyeni to confirm the number she had given police in her statement as the number belonging to her son, which she did.
Malibongwe’s number was earlier linked via cellphone records to the planning and orchestration of the robbery on May 2 2018.
Lusanda Ludziya, 34, along with Sonwabo Gcuwa, 39, former Fidelity Security official Nontuthuzelo Majola, 37, Simthembile Qhongoshani, 35, and Sibongile Nozinxezu, 35, have all pleaded not guilty to a list of charges including robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of attempted murder, murder and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
On Monday, Gqamana ruled that a confession statement obtained from Gcuwa was admissible as evidence.
In it, Gcuwa detailed the events leading up to and during the robbery.
He was arrested at the scene of the shoot-out where Malibongwe had been killed..
In his statement, Gcuwa admitted he had collaborated with Majola in the days leading up to the robbery through cellphone calls and SMSes.
According to Gcuwa, he knew two men with them in the white Toyota Quantum used during the robbery had been armed but did not give their names as he only knew them by their nicknames.
He later identified one of the armed men as Malibongwe.
Gcuwa said on the day of the robbery he and the other men, including Malibongwe, had left Mqanduli at about 1am and headed for Gqeberha.
He said once they arrived at the Sasol garage, they had climbed out of the Quantum at a certain spot, where they also met up later after robbing Majola’s crewman of R164,940.
The remaining suspects were arrested later.
The trial continues.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.