Nomaswazi Tshabalala appeared at the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday after she allegedly killed and buried her grandmother inside their yard in Mndeni, Soweto.
Tshabalala faces charges of murder, 24 counts of fraud, theft of the deceased’s bank and Sassa cards, obstructing and defeating the ends of justice, as well as statutory perjury.
She confessed to having attacked her grandmother, Nomsa, with a calabash and strangled her to death. The 31-year-old also pleaded guilty to the charges, confessing that she killed her grandmother during an altercation. She said the granny wanted her out of the house.
Tshabalala told the court that she was under the influence of drugs when she committed the murder on December 14 2019. She later used the old woman’s bank and Sassa cards and only opened a missing person’s case on December 19 2019.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwana said the old woman’s body was found by a tenant.
“She was arrested on 3 September 2020 for using the deceased elderly woman’s card, whilst she reported her missing. She was kept in custody and charged with fraud and theft until a tenant discovered the remains of the deceased in June 2021,” said Mjonondwana.
“Nomsa’s relatives had decided to rent out the house following the arrest and detention of the accused. The new tenant was busy cleaning the yard when he discovered Nomsa’s buried body underneath a steel cabinet in the backyard. DNA profiling was conducted and matched that of Nomsa.”
The case is back in court on October 7 for sentencing.
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