FAILED to control herself, the police officer who was present shed tears when the body of Ms. Ayabonga Mjilo (24) was discovered in the pit toilet, behind her house of a man who was once her manager at work.
Sergeant Sfiso Ngcobo, who works under the Trio Task Team at Greenwood Park Police Station, Durban, was testifying before the Durban High Court yesterday. In this case which is said to have happened between December 24 and 25, 2024, the woman was killed and her body was buried in the toilet to try to hide the evidence.
On January 4, 2025, the police arrested Mr. Mfanafuthi Kunene, who was last seen with the deceased on December 24, 2024 when they were leaving a restaurant in Mhlanga. Ngcobo told the court how they came together as a team to work on the case after it was reported that Ms. Mjilo was missing.
He revealed that a relative had told them that he was last seen with his colleagues at a restaurant in Mhlanga. He said they were giving money at the call center in Mhlanga, and they were found by their colleagues who confirmed that they were together to celebrate the end of the year but they left first, leaving the deceased to stay with the accused. He said that the defendant did not find him at this place, the investigator left his phone number to contact him, and the defendant took his phone number, and when he called it, he found it not coming through.
“We were still standing when the defendant called the investigator, and said he heard that the police were looking for him. The investigator then told him that it was about a missing woman. He then revealed that she was not there, and said he would come to the police when he returned,” Ngcobo recalled.
He said that before they left for the defendant’s work, they asked to see his picture, and asked where he lived, and it turned out that he lives in Maoti, Nanda. He said that he then contacted the people who had leaked the information in Maoti, and that in the morning of the next day, they contacted him and told him that the accused was with them and that he had not gone anywhere. He said that when they arrived at the defendant’s house in the morning, the door was opened by the boy, who they said was introducing themselves, and the defendant’s mother appeared, and they told him that they would be looking for him regarding the missing woman, but he denied her and said that she was not there.
“We called his number, it rang inside the house. This confused us because we had just been told that he was not there. We asked to go in and search for ourselves. We went inside and looked in the room, and found him in a hidden place, closed with a curtain, hiding,” said Ngcobo.
He said that Kunene first told them that he also kept the deceased at a restaurant in Mhlanga, the investigator told him that his mobile phone was the last to be picked up at home. He also told him that someone close to the deceased told the police that the deceased called him saying he was in the same place, asking for help before it was over.
“After he was told all this, he showed remorse, cried, and told us that the deceased is there but he is no longer alive,” said Ngcobo. He said he then led them towards the back of the house, where he showed them a toilet pit that had cement that showed it was new, and said the deceased put him inside.
It was after he explained to Ngcobo that the rescue team had arrived, they took out the body of the deceased, wrapped in a sheet and a mat, where he burst into tears and cried. The family of the deceased also did the same, they were seen shedding tears on the benches, some even went outside to get some fresh air.
The court suggested that Ngcobo be given a break so that he feels better, but he refused and said he was ready to continue testifying. Wrapping up his testimony, he said he remembers that the community was full of fire, since there were many incidents of killing women.
“I remember holding him close, my words to him were that I will protect you, you will be here by my side, no one will touch you,” said Ngcobo, who said he was aware of the anger of the community that had gathered at the scene of the incident. The case continues today.