Seated calmly in a chair, Khumbuzile Nxumalo buries her face in her hands and takes a deep sigh before reluctantly talking about the brutal murder of her cousin Busisiwe Nxumalo.
When visited by Sunday World this week, Nxumalo had just opened her fast-food stall, getting ready for the day at the busy Mansel Road near Durban train station. She refuses to have any photos taken, saying she does not trust strangers.
This week, Sithembile Xulu together with her gardener Simon Mogale, 37, appeared in the Lenasia Magistrate’s Court charged with fraud and the murder of Busisiwe.
Mogale blew the whistle. and told police that he was hired by Xulu to kill the deceased, promising him R60 000 upon successful execution.
It has been close to three years since the murder of 21-year-old Busisiwe in Lenasia South in Gauteng. Her body was found brutally stabbed at a dump site not very far from the home of Xulu, a nurse who had requested her from her parents in the KwaZulu-Natal rural village of KwaHlabisa.
The 48-year-old nurse has since been arrested and linked to the murder.
It is believed that Mogale had been angry that Xulu was not keeping up to the end of the agreement after paying him only R9 000 of the agreed amount. But Xulu had promised that the remaining cash would be paid once the R 6-million insurance was cashed.
Court records show that 24 hours after the murder of Busisiwe, Xulu received a payment of R700 000 from two funeral policies from FNB and Capitec banks.
Other explosive details contained in the case docket are that Xulu had covered the deceased with three life insurances from King Price, Outsurance and Stangen Life. The life insurance providers also raised eyebrows at Xulu’s claims, which led to their own probe uncovering possible fraud.
“We had high hopes Johannesburg, unlike Durban, would offer better educational and employment opportunities. So, I did not agree to the idea of her coming to Durban. I had no idea that death was calling her,” lamented Nxumalo.
She said the family had acceded to the request because Xulu had grown up in the same village of KwaHlabisa, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
“She came to us dressed in sheep’s clothing. But she was a wolf whose sole intention was to callously murder our daughter for money. We had no reason not to trust her.”
Xulu is believed to have orchestrated the murder plan by taking three life cover policies under the deceased’s name. The policies would have ensured that upon the death of Busisiwe, Xulu would pocket R6-million in payouts.
Sunday World understands Xulu told Busisiwe’s family she would be assisting her in the house while exploring other avenues.
Mandisa Ndawonde, Busisiwe’s childhood friend, told Sunday World that months before her friend’s untimely demise, she was terrified of going back to Gauteng.
“I remember during the December holidays when she came home, she said she never trusted Mam Xulu (nurse). She said she had a cold heart. She was scared but she wanted the job because it was helping her family. So, she went back despite her gut feeling telling
her otherwise.”
Xulu is alleged to have told the family the deceased had been killed by a mob.
She subsequently paid the family an amount of R14 000 to assist with funeral arrangements, including hiring a bakkie which transported the corpse to Busisiwe’s ancestral home for burial.
Xulu and Mogale are due back in court on July 3 for a bail hearing.
