Durban cop loses third bail bid after claiming to be ‘falsely accused’ of woman’s murder

Durban policeman Sergeant Nhlakanipho Nkosinathi Mgwaba, 39, accused of stabbing his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend to death, has failed in a third bid to be released on bail. 

Mgwaba, who was based at Umlazi police station, was arrested after the murder of Zamandosi Cele in October 2021. She was reportedly last seen when she visited Mgwaba in the Ngonyameni area. It was reported that they had been involved in a fight during which Mgwaba had stabbed Cele in the neck, and she died on the scene. 

It is alleged that while Cele died at about 8pm on a Wednesday night, Mgwaba left his room very early the next morning, leaving the door locked and did not report the case. He returned home at about 5pm and refused to give his daughter the key to his room when she asked for it. 

When Mgwaba entered his room later that evening, the daughter saw a person lying dead on the floor and told this to her grandfather who reported this to police at Bhekithemba. 

Police officers returned to the house and found Cele’s body. A murder docket was opened at Bhekithemba police station, and Mgwaba was arrested and charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice.

Mgwaba applied for bail in November 2021 and again in January 2022 and was denied on both occasions because it had not been disputed that the body was found in Mgwaba’s room and he was the only person who had a key for the locked door, the deceased had been left dead in the room for over 24 hours and the matter was eventually reported by a relative and not Mgwaba himself. 

In his latest appeal Mgwaba argued that the magistrate had been misdirected in his finding that Mgwaba might try to evade going on trial if he was released because of the extreme likelihood that he would be convicted, that he might try to influence or intimidate witnesses and that he could disturb public order. 

Mgwaba argued that he was not a flight-risk, that investigations were complete and there was therefore no longer a risk of interference with investigations and that suitable bail conditions could be imposed as an alternative to refusing bail altogether. 

In denying bail, the magistrate added that because Mgwaba was suspended without pay, he was not in a position to provide financially for his minor children who were being cared for by their mother and grandmother. It was also stated that as a policeman, it was Mgwaba’s duty to report a murder and he had instead kept it hidden for more than 24 hours. 

In denying Mgwaba’s second bid for bail, the magistrate found that his claims of illness and acute stress were not new, nor were they cited as conditions for which he sought treatment before his arrest. He could therefore access the treatment he needed in custody. 

The court found that the state had a strong case, and it was therefore not in the interests of justice to release Mgwaba on bail. 

In her judgment on Mgwaba’s latest appeal in the KwaZulu-Natal high court, acting judge Narini Hiralall said she had been asked to consider that Mgwaba had been in therapy with a counselling psychologist for acute stress three months before the murder, that his condition had worsened after his arrest and it was therefore in the interests that he be released so he could undergo therapy that would ensure he was fit to stand trial.

He had also claimed to have been wrongly advised by his lawyer to resign from his job, and he needed to be free to consult with a lawyer to have this reversed and his medical aid restored. 

He argued that the state’s case was weak, he had been wrongly accused and continued incarceration would prejudice him. He described claims that his parents and children were witnesses against him were false and he had not kept the body in his room for 24 hours. 

The court found that Mgwaba had not proven his claim that his acute stress had worsened in prison. 

Mgwaba argued that he had parents, a fiancé and four minor children to support, owned a house and a car, had no interests outside South Africa and his passport was expired. 

“I seriously doubt that the appellant would abandon his ties to his home and family to become a fugitive from justice,” the court found, adding that the ‘misdirections’ alleged by Mgwaba do not “warrant setting aside the decision of the magistrate to refuse bail”. 

“The appellant is a policeman in the employ of the South African Police Service, or at least he was until he resigned from his post at some point. The charges against him are undeniably serious and particularly more so because of the second charge, that is obstructing the course of justice,” the court said. 

The state claims that Mgwaba had invited the deceased to visit him on October 13 2021, that they had quarrelled and Cele had been stabbed. She had died at about 8pm, and Mgwaba had not called for medical assistance or reported her death. He had instead left her body in is locked room when he left early the next morning.  

“It was discovered during the post-mortem that the deceased’s body had sustained several assault bruises on the face, and on one of her eyes, and that the cause of death was a stab wound to the left side of her chest. The murder weapon, a knife, was found in a drawer in the kitchen. The witnesses in the case are known to the appellant. They are his parents, children, and neighbours, and his friends from whom the deceased’s cellphone was recovered,” the court said. 

It was found that the state had a strong prima facie case against Mgwaba, and it was therefore possible that he might try to influence witnesses who had already given statements. He had also chosen to remain silent rather than give an explanation for his allegations that he was falsely accused and had not stored a body for 24 hours. 

In dismissing the appeal, the court said: “In the circumstances, I am not persuaded that the magistrate’s decision to refuse the appellant bail was wrong”. 

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