'Serial killer' ex-cop happy to see her mother in court

Shortly after her mother gave testimony in her defence, murder accused Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu said she was happy to have been able to see and speak with her.

Maria Mushwana, the mother of the former police officer who is facing a raft of charges ranging from murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice, was permitted to see her daughter after taking the stand in the High Court in Johannesburg sitting in the Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Thursday.

Judge Ramarumo Monama had adjourned the matter briefly for Ndlovu and Mushwana to see each other before the latter was transported back to her home in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.

After the pair saw each other in a separate and closed courtroom, prosecutor Adv Riana Williams asked Ndlovu how she felt about seeing her mother.

Ndlovu responded by saying: “I am very happy. Before yesterday, I had not seen her since 2018.”

Monama had also permitted the mother and daughter to see each on Wednesday afternoon after the matter was adjourned. 

Earlier, Mushwana told the court she did not know of the alleged plot to have her and her other daughter, Joyce Ndlovu, murdered.

Ndlovu had allegedly hired two hitmen to kill the pair and the latter’s five children by setting their houses on fire in Bushbuckridge in 2018.

Mushwana, 80, told the court during her testimony she knew nothing about the charges her daughter faced, including the botched attempt to have her murdered.

She was led through her testimony by Ndlovu’s lawyer, Mr Soko who asked her whether she remembered encountering Lakhiwe Mkhize, one of the hitmen who was allegedly hired by her daughter to kill her at home in December 2017.

“According to Mr Mhize’s testimony, he said he and the accused [Ndlovu] travelled to Bushbuckridge where the accused showed him your house and told him that you lived with two of your grandchildren. He testified that the accused instructed him to go to the house and ask for water and also see who was in the house with you. Mr Mkhize said he did so and returned to her, informing her that you were there with one of your grandchildren. Do you recall this taking place?” asked Soko

Mushwana said: “I do not remember this taking place. There was nobody who came to my house to ask for water.”

During cross-examination, Williams asked Mushwana how she felt about her daughter allegedly placing a R2,600 bounty on her head. Mushwana said: “I never felt disturbed because I was never threatened by anyone at my place.”

Williams asked Mushwana about the death of her other daughter, Audrey Ndlovu, who was found poisoned and strangled to death in her rented room in Tembisa in June 2013.

Mushwana told the court she learnt of Audrey’s death a day after she was found dead but she did not remember who called her to inform her about it.

“I can't remember who called me. I was in mourning and I was not in a good mind frame because I had just learnt about the death of my daughter,” she said.

While her mother gave testimony, Ndlovu fixed her gaze on the floor, looking up only when a new line of questioning was brought up. 

Ndlovu was arrested in March 2018 in Bushbuckridge after she pointed out her mother and sister’s houses to the two hitmen.

Ndlovu is accused of murdering her cousin, Witness Madala Homu, who was found dead with head injuries in March 2012, her sister, Audrey, who was found poisoned and strangled to death in her rented room in Tembisa in June 2013, while her boyfriend, Yingwani Maurice Mabasa, died in October 2015 after being stabbed more than 80 times.

She also allegedly murdered her niece Zanele Motha who died after apparently being involved in a hit-and-run accident in Kempton Park in June 2016.  

Ndlovu also allegedly murdered her nephew, Mayeni Mashaba, who died in April 2017, on the same day he had arranged to meet Ndlovu in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni. Ndlovu’s last alleged victim was her nephew, Brilliant Mashego, who was Audrey’s son. He died in January 2018 after allegedly meeting Ndlovu in Mbombela.