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It was through her work as a police officer at the Thembisa South police station that Ndlovu allegedly met two “hitmen” she hired to kill her mother, sisters, nieces and nephews.
The men, Kunene and Lakhiwe Mkhize, were crucial to the state’s case as Ndlovu’s trial played out in the court.
The court heard Kunene had been arrested several years ago by Ndlovu on a gun possession charge. He was later cleared of the charge. He alleged that in 2017 he was approached by Ndlovu, who said she wanted him to kill his sister, Gladys.
Gladys lived in Pholosong in Thembisa. Shocked by this request, Kunene told his friend Mkhize about this. Mkhize was present when Ndlovu allegedly met Kunene to follow up on her request and he was roped into the murder plot. Together, they drove to Gladys’s house.
They claimed they were promised R15,000 for Gladys’s life. They were given R800 as a down payment for petrol. However, they never carried out the plot and avoided Ndlovu.
In February 2018, Ndlovu approached Mkhize and allegedly said this time she had another target, her elderly mother, Maria Mushwana, who lived in Thulamahashe, Buckbuckridge. Mkhize was allegedly paid R2,600 for the job and taken to Bushbuckridge, where he was shown the house.
Mkhize, however, failed to execute the killing.
He said when he arrived at the elderly woman’s house, he was moved by how vulnerable and fragile she was. Instead, he asked for a glass of water and left, taking off with Ndlovu’s money.
The 80-year-old Mushwana is expected to be among those who will testify in Ndlovu’s defence.
