Mhlompheni Cyril Mlambi, 51, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday, 19 October, for the brutal murder of Bhutana Philip Hlongwane, 67, in March 2019. Mlambi was further sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment for the house robbery, with sentences to run concurrently.
In the early hours of Sunday, 31 March 2019, Mlambi entered Hlongwane’s home in Watersmeet. Hlongwane, the only occupant in the house, was caught off guard by Mlambi who assaulted and tortured him to give up his cash and valuable possessions.
“He had sustained several injuries including having hot plastic poured over his skin. He was left for dead by his assailant. A fridge was loaded onto his bakkie which was driven away. A cellphone was taken from the premises. The following morning his neighbours came to his assistance and he was rushed to a local hospital. His injuries proved fatal and he passed on a week later,” said Warrant Officer Bash Khan, communications officer for SAPS.
Besters SAPS Detective, Sergeant Nkosi, was assigned the case and made a crucial breakthrough when the tracker company contacted him during September 2019 with the location of the deceased’s vehicle. The task team was roped in and a 48-year-old man was arrested in the Winterton area.
“In his yard stood the vehicle of the deceased. The suspect was unable to give a proper account as to why he came into possession of the vehicle,” added W/O Khan.
Further investigation on the vehicle conducted by the uThukela Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit revealed that the chassis number had been tampered with. The original number was recovered using an etching process.
This confirmed that the vehicle indeed belonged to the deceased. It came to light that the suspect owned a Toyota Hilux similar to the one he had stolen and that he would exchange vehicle parts as required.
