The 76-year-old grandmother of some of the five accused in a murder case could be charged after it emerged that she may have played a part in the incidents leading to the death of Grahamstown man Thembelani Qwakanisa, whose body was recovered from Zion Dam last month.
The 76-year-old grandmother of some of the five accused in a murder case could be charged after it emerged that she may have played a part in the incidents leading to the death of Grahamstown man Thembelani Qwakanisa, whose body was recovered from Zion Dam last month.
It was alleged in court today that Ntombizodwa Florence Onceya, 76, who is also a state witness, played a part in Qwakanisa’s murder. Qwakanisa’s mutilated body was found wrapped in a carpet in the Extension 6 dam on 5 October.
Her alleged involvement was revealed after Basil Williams who is representing Rhodes student Thembani Onceya in his bail application, asked for the identities of the witnesses whom Detective Warrant Officer John Manzana said would testify in court during trial.
Manzana said one of the witnesses was Thembani’s grandmother.
Florence (this is the name she uses) according to the state has given a statement to Manzana that contradicts Thembani’s version of events of the weekend of Qwakanisa’s death.
In the statement, Florence said Thembani arrived in Extension 9 on Saturday 1 October and left to return to Rhodes University on Monday 3 October.
However, in his testimony during his bail application Thembani said he arrived in Extension 9 on Saturday to attend a funeral and left between 8 and 9am on Sunday 2 October for the campus.
Williams asked Manzana if the witnesses played a role in the killing of Qwakanisa. Manzana said the elderly woman had played a role; however, the nature of her role was not discussed.
“She did play a role but I can’t say if she would be prosecuted or not. The case is now with the National Prosecuting Authority and they will decide whether to prosecute her or not,” said Manzana.
Pressed again by WIlliams to reveal what time Qwakanisa died, Manzana said he didn’t know, explaining later that there was no time of death on the postmortem report.
Manzana eventually revealed the name of the person who told him where Thembani was on 1 and 3 October.
He also said he had petitions from members of the communities of Extensions 9, 6, 8 as well as Transit Camp calling for bail to be denied to Thembani.
State Prosecutor Lyle Prins said the reason he did not want Onceya to get bail was because he appeared to have misled the court.
“The applicant said that he was in Extension 9 on Saturday 1 October and left on Sunday morning. His grandmother is a state witness and has made a statement that the applicant only left for the campus on Monday 3 October.
“The manner in which this murder was committed was very serious: that was not a usual murder but torture,” Prins said. “The applicant was there and he played a role in the killing of the deceased. He had a motive to commit this offence.”
Williams said the court could not make assumptions and [pre-]judge the case according to the statements of the witnesses.
“The case of the State remains untested,” Williams said. “What if the applicant didn’t play a part in the incident, or if he left while the deceased was still alive? The state can’t say there is a strong case against accused number 5.”
He said Thembani had no previous convictions and was a student at Rhodes University. He said the applicant wanted to finish his studies and obtain his degree.
“The applicant has testified in front of this court that he is the only one from his home to get to university. He wants to finish his studies, get job and provide for his family.
“The applicant has stated that he has two addresses. He also handed himself over to the police after he heard that they were looking for him,” said Williams.
The court will determine on Thursday 3 November whether Thembani will be released on bail. This was announced when Thembani and his four co-accused briefly appear in the magistrate's court in Grahamstown this morning. They remain in custody.
* Article updated following today's court appearance Tuesday 1 November, at 3.55pm.
