In a major twist to the case, the charge of culpable homicide against two men linked to the death of a Nelson Mandela University student has been changed to murder.
Motshwane Ngakane, 27, and Siyabulela Mekuto, 38 — both employees at the Gateway Residence in Central — also face a charge of kidnapping.
Thandolwami Ndlovu, 24, was killed in September 2024, when he was struck by a Mercedes-Benz in Clyde Street, Central.
While Ndlovu did not stay at the Gateway Residence at the time, an off-campus private residence contracted to NMU, it is alleged that before his death he was involved in an altercation with the manager of the establishment.
Ndlovu was a third-year industrial chemistry student from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.
Ngakane and Mekuto appeared briefly in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Friday, where the case was postponed to November 14 for referral to the regional court ahead of trial.
They are both out on bail.
Police spokesperson Capt Sandra Janse van Rensburg said both suspects, initially charged with culpable homicide, now faced charges of murder and kidnapping.
Speaking to The Herald outside the court on Friday, Ndlovu’s mother, Xolisile Shongwe, supported by a group of MK party members, said she was still reeling from her son’s death.
Shongwe, who had travelled from Newcastle to attend court proceedings, said she had been looking ahead to her son’s graduation — not his burial and the subsequent trial.
In addition, Shongwe said she had thought justice was failing her because she was told in July that the docket had “gone missing”.
However, she was relieved when she was later informed that the docket had been reconstructed from information stored in the court system.
She described her son as an intelligent young man.
“He liked his studies.
“He liked helping others.
“I heard when I was here in the Eastern Cape that he was focusing on helping other students and he would buy female students sanitary pads and toothpaste.
“He even opened his own trading company and had people working for him,” she said.
Her son was also going to publish a book on trading online to assist disadvantaged people to learn new ways to make money.
He also had many future plans, including buying a car and getting married in 2025.
She said her family felt robbed when he died.
“As the family, we just need justice to prevail.
“It is painful and not easy,” she said.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali referred questions about the alleged missing docket to the police, adding that the SAPS was the custodian of dockets.
On the changes to the charges the accused faced, Tyali said the Criminal Procedure Act allowed for an amendment of charges as the investigation progressed.
“That is allowed until a final indictment is served on the interested parties.
“Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to comment on ongoing investigations,” Tyali said.
Janse van Rensburg said the docket was sent to court in May 2025 but never returned from court.
“All case dockets are copied onto an internal system and all the information that was in the previous docket was reprinted and a duplicate was opened.
“No information was lost, and court proceedings were not interrupted,” Janse van Rensburg said.
Attorney Kekeletso Ngakane, who represents the accused, said they had full faith in the justice system.
“Only when true justice is attained will everyone affected get closure,” she said.
According to reports at the time, a friend had met Ndlovu at a tavern near the Gateway Residence, where he was told Ndlovu and another friend had allegedly been involved in an “incident” earlier that day.
According to the friend, Ndlovu had allegedly been armed with a taser gun and had kicked down a door.
He said he had advised them to let it go and continue drinking.
It was not clear what had transpired before the reported events.
After leaving the tavern, the friend alleged he was forced inside the Gateway Residence by a security guard and the manager, who demanded to know Ndlovu’s whereabouts.
When he said he did not know, they allegedly forced him into a vehicle and drove to where Ndlovu lived. However, Ndlovu was not there.
On the way back to the tavern, they came across Ndlovu.
After a confrontation with the security guard, Ndlovu was allegedly hit with a brick but managed to run away.
The manager, who was still in the car, allegedly chased after him and rammed into him with the vehicle.
He was declared dead at the scene.
It remains unclear which of the accused was employed as the manager and which as the security guard.
Asked about the outcome of the university’s investigation into the contractual relationship with Gateway Residence, NMU spokesperson Zandile Ngwendu said it accredited a number of private accommodation establishments to supplement its on-campus capacity in accordance with the university’s accreditation policy.
“It was determined that with the incident having taken place on a public road beyond the premises of the accredited off-campus private residence, the investigation therefore fell within the jurisdiction of the SA Police Service to investigate.
“The university has co-operated with this process as necessary, and trusts that justice will prevail.
“The two individuals implicated are no longer stationed at the residence in question, which remains accredited by the university pending the outcome of the court process.
“As part of its ongoing commitment to student safety, the university’s accreditation process requires that all accredited off-campus residences employ security services registered with the Private Security Industry Regulating Authority, which conducts independent security inspections.”
After Ndlovu’s death, NMU announced that an investigation would be conducted in line with its service level agreement with private, off-campus residences.
The Herald
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