The Mamelodi Magistrates’ Court denied a Gauteng Provincial Traffic official Zakhele Bennet Hlongwane (53) from Mamelodi bail. He is facing a charge of premeditated murder of his wife Tili Desire Ngobeni (33), as well as a charge of pointing of a firearm and housebreaking with intent to murder. It is alleged that on 01 April 2024 at around 05h00 the accused went to the deceased place of residence in Mamelodi. On arrival, Hlongwane broke open the deceased room door and began to shoot her multiple times in the presence of their five- and three-year-old children. After the brother of the deceased heard the gunshots, he came out of his room and the accused pointed at him with a firearm. An hour later, Hlongwane handed himself over to the Mamelodi Police Station and has been in custody since.
In court through his legal representative, he asked to be released on bail because after committing the offences, he had an opportunity to flee but rather submitted himself to the police. Moreover, he needed to take care of his 15-year-old daughter and feared that his place of residence would continue being vandalized by criminals. However, state prosecutor Tshilidzi Mugeri opposed the bail application saying that the accused personally knows the witnesses therefore granting him bail will endanger the lives of the witnesses and the court has the duty and responsibility to ensure their safety. Moreover, he said, the court should take into consideration the prevalence of this offence as South Africa has a notably high rate of femicide cases. Furthermore, the state submitted that the court must ensure that such murderers are not granted bail.
During bail judgement, magistrate Mlombo said he believes that the state has a strong case against the accused and that his minor daughter being affected by his incarceration isn’t exceptional. He added that the fact that the accused handed himself over to the police isn’t exceptional either rather it was the right thing to do. Moreover, the court, found that there is a likelihood that the accused will evade trial because if he is found guilty the prescribed minimum sentence of premeditated murder is life imprisonment. Furthermore, he said the accused failed to convince the court that exceptional circumstances exist which in the interest of justice warrant his release on bail. Therefore, bail was denied. The matter has been postponed to 18 September 2024 for further investigations.
