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KZN court denies bail for alleged killer of DA’s uMngeni chief whip

KZN court denies bail for alleged killer of DA’s uMngeni chief whip
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
16 Jan 2025
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Bank deposit and cellphone records placing Thobani Hlongwa at the scene of the 2023 assassination help to torpedo his bail bid.

A suspicious bank deposit and cellphone records placing Thobani Hlongwa at the scene when DA uMngeni chief whip Nhlalayenza Ndlovu was murdered at home in Mpophomeni in December 2023 are among the reasons his bail was denied in Howick Magistrates’ Court, KwaZulu-Natal, on Wednesday, 15 January.

The bail application of the second co-accused (whose name has not yet been revealed by the SAPS), who was arrested last week and made his first appearance on the same day as Hlongwa’s bail hearing, was not heard. Instead, that bail application has been remanded to Tuesday, 11 February.

Hlongwa, who was arrested in October last year, faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of an unlawful firearm and possession of unlawful ammunition.

The case stems from the assassination of Ndlovu who was murdered at his Mpophomeni home, in full view of his wife and children, in December 2023.

Ndlovu’s wife and two children, aged five and six months, were in the house at the time, with the nanny. They were not physically harmed but were said to be in shock after witnessing the murder close to where they were sitting in the living room.

At the time of the murder, the uMngeni Municipality offered a R100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ndlovu’s murderers. 

Read more: Nhlalayenza Ndlovu ‘cannot become another police statistic in the ongoing slaughter of councillors’ – Chris Pappas

Damning allegations


The State’s case in the bail hearing against Hlongwa was based on facts contained in the affidavit of investigating officer Sergeant Delani Chamane.

Chamane said the killing of Ndlovu was politically motivated and Hlongwa and his associates were allegedly hired to kill Ndlovu.

According to Chamane’s investigation and the facts provided to the court, Hlongwa was a suspected gang member operating in the Pietermaritzburg area. He is also accused of additional charges stemming from criminal gang activities.

Chamane told the court that cellphone records placed Hlongwa at the crime scene on the day of the murder. He said a large deposit had allegedly been made into Hlongwa’s account the day after the assassination.

The investigating officer also informed the court that a conflict between Ndlovu and a traditional leader over the sale of state land and illegal electrical connections was a factor that should not be overlooked.

On the day of the murder, Ndlovu apparently intended to meet this traditional chief, who is a suspect in the case and remains at large.

Hlongwa’s bail was denied because his affidavit failed to provide evidence which satisfied the court that exceptional circumstances existed to justify or permit his release. He will remain in custody until the case returns to court on Tuesday, 11 March.

DA’s probe


On Thursday, DA leader in KZN Francois Rodgers told Daily Maverick that the party had been concerned about the police response at the time of the murder. 

He said the party approached advocate Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, and put together a team which included forensic experts who delved into the matter.

“Our team then started to identify certain suspects and Nel requested a meeting with the investigator from the political task team. They were absolutely ignored.

“We knew of both of the individuals arrested and charged with the murder and we believe we know who the mastermind is. We call on the police to arrest the mastermind behind the senseless killing,” Rodgers said.

Contract killings on the rise in KZN


Contract killings are escalating in South Africa, especially in volatile KwaZulu-Natal, where trained assassins have been making their presence felt in the taxi industry and across the political spectrum, over tenders and jobs in municipalities, and in other areas such as business, settling disputes through the barrel of a gun.

In another example, hundreds of mourners gathered in November 2023 to pay their last respects at the sombre and emotional double funeral of Inkosi Siphamandla Khumalo (41), a popular chief of the Qomintaba clan in northern KwaZulu-Natal, and his wife Thuthukile.

Khumalo had played leadership roles in various local traditional structures and their murders are believed to be linked to the positions of power he had held.

Read more: Assassination nation – political contract killings escalate in KZN as hitmen are offered ‘job after job’

Political killing task team dismantled


Meanwhile, in a two-page letter to national police commissioner Sehlahle Fannie Masemola on New Year’s Eve, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu directed that the police chief halt Crime Intelligence appointments and dismantle the controversial political killings task force.

The police minister made it clear that he did not believe the task team, which was set up after the Moerane Commission released its report on such murders, had achieved anything that would warrant its continued existence.

More concerning is a report released by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) in May 2024, written by Rumbi Matamba and Chwayita Thobela, indicating that South Africa recorded 35 assassinations during the first four months of 2024.

Ten of these were political killings, an average of one every two weeks, which raised concerns about the risk of political violence as candidates vied for positions leading up to the 29 May 2024 elections.

The report also found that these murders were used to silence political opponents, take control of succession battles, infiltrate local governance and influence political outcomes.

“Political violence and assassinations pose a very real threat to the country’s democracy. They are not an isolated phenomenon and they intersect with organised crime and criminal networks. The intertwining of criminal networks and political assassinations in South Africa underscores the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to tackle organised crime and stop targeted killings,” the report reads. DM

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