Thembinkosi Nzimakwe head was in the process of being sold to a traditional healer, near the traditional medicine market in Durban when one of his alleged killers was caught carrying the head in a backpack. Picture: Daily News
DURBAN - THE MAN serving a life sentence for beheading a man and trying to sell his head to a traditional healer was escorted from Westville Prison to court by heavily armed Emergency Support Teams (EST) member to testify against his friend.
Philani Jojisa was convicted of the murder of Thembinkosi Nzimakwe after he pleaded guilty in October 2019.
At the time, Jojisa told the court that he was going to sell the head to a traditional healer for R20 000. He was found with it in his backpack.
He said the money was to be split equally between him and his friend, Lehlohonolo Swartbooi, who is on trial for the same murder.
Nzimakwe had been reported missing when his body was found in Mayville and linked to a head that had been found when a man, who was trying to sell it to a traditional healer in the Durban CBD, was arrested in August 2017.
Swartbooi, who was arrested as an accomplice a few days later, had pleaded not guilty.
Jojisa had told the court that he had financial problems and owed four loan sharks a total of about R6 000.
Implicating Swartbooi, a friend and a colleague, Jojisa said they both plotted to kill a person and sell the head to a traditional healer.
However, this version was disputed by Swartbooi through his lawyer Zeera Fareed.
Fareed said Swartbooi would say that he knew nothing about the plan to sell a human head to a traditional healer.
“He will also tell the court that he was not there when the beheading took place. He will say that you were the last person seen with Nzimakwe,” he said.
sne.masuku@inl.co.za
Daily News
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