Mbombela (Nelspruit) – Accused 28-year-old Zanele Mkhonto this week pleaded guilty to the murder of her 45-year-old police sergeant boyfriend, Mandlenkosi Happy Thwala.
On Thursday, Mkhonto appeared in the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela.
Allegations are that in August last year, Mkhonto shot her boyfriend with his police service pistol after a heated argument and a physical fight at the sergeant’s home in Mbombela.
Mkhonto insists she acted in self-defence and that Thwala had been abusive and unfaithful to her.
After that, things got dark for Mkhonto.
She was arrested by the Hawks at night in Gedlembane, near Pienaar, in Mbombela last August.
Mkhonto has been in custody since her arrest on 10 August 2022.
The accused will return to the high court later this month, on 27 November, when her sentencing will begin.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the accused had been denied bail.
He recalled that: “The matter was investigated by the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Mbombela.
“During the investigation, Mkhonto, a girlfriend of the late Thwala, was linked to the murder.”
She pleaded guilty to pre-meditated murder, Captain Sekgotodi said.
