Traditional healer and sons charged with murder after love proposal turns deadly

A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) court has remanded a traditional healer and his two sons in custody for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a man who flirted with the healer’s girlfriend and insulted him while drunk.

48-year-old Khulekani Ngubane and his two sons, 24-year-old Sihle Zungu and Mduduzi Ngubane (21), appeared at the Mtubatuba Magistrate’s Court in KZN on Monday.

The traditional healer and his sons remain in custody after being arrested this past weekend.

Traditional healer, sons linked to murder

KwaZulu-Natal police arrested the father and his sons in connection with the kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and murder of 28-year-old Thandazani Mngomezulu.

“It is reported that the deceased, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time, had attempted to propose love to the traditional healer’s girlfriend and is alleged to have uttered unkind words about Ngubane,” the police said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ngubane, upon hearing about the incident, took his two sons and abducted Mngomezulu from his home in the Qwakini area in Mtubatuba.

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The trio allegedly forced the man to their home, where they reportedly tied him against a tree, and the father assaulted him, on 15 December 2024.

“Mngomezulu was rescued by community members who pleaded with the traditional healer that the victim had had enough,” the police said.

Mngomezulu died in hospital

Following a few days in the Empangeni Hospital, Mngomezulu passed away from his severe injuries.

After the man’s death, police reviewed the doctor’s report, which led them to change the initial charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to murder, prompting the arrests of the suspects.

The state charged the father with murder, kidnapping, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, while his sons faced charges of kidnapping and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The traditional healer and his sons will be in court on 21 January 2025, where they will make a formal bail application.

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