A former soldier has been charged with murder after she hacked a suspected intruder to death at her Qaga village home near King William’s Town minutes after she had been wished a happy birthday by her son at the weekend.
Thozama Ngcala, a former SA National Defence Force corporal, hacked Thembela Ndungu, 30, to death with an axe around 9pm on Saturday after he allegedly broke into her home.
She turned 50 on Saturday but her celebrations turned into a nightmare, she said, as she had to defend herself from the intruder.
Ngcala told the Daily Dispatch yesterday she was so traumatised by the event she would never be able to celebrate her birthday again.
She appeared at the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday and was released on warning.
The case was postponed to April 6.
Speaking after her court appearance, Ngcala said she had switched the lights off and was sitting in the lounge waiting for her boyfriend when Ndungu broke in through the kitchen.
“He thought I was in the bedroom so I ran into the bathroom and took an axe. I waited for him to come out,” she said.
Ngcala said he went back to the kitchen after he could not find her and was looking for household goods to steal.
Ngcala then pounced on Ndungu with the axe.
They struggled for the axe but “luckily I managed to overpower him and I hit him again and again until I could not remove the axe.
“I switched on the lights, took a towel and called the neighbours because he was alive when I left him and I feared he could wake up,” she said.
Ngcala lives with her 17-year-old daughter, who was not at home at the time. She said her home has been broken into several times before.
Ngcala, who served in the army between 1994 and 2005, said she killed Ndungu in self-defence as she believed her life was in danger.
“I was very scared that the man wanted to rape me and my reaction was to defend myself,” she said.
Ngcala’s neighbour, Nothemba Mgebeza, said Ndungu had been terrorising the community for years.
Ndungu’s family could not be reached for comment last night.
King William’s Town spokeswoman Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said Ngcala was charged with murder and immediately released. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
Ex-soldier hacks home intruder to death
Thozama Ngcala, a former SA National Defence Force corporal, hacked Thembela Ndungu, 30, to death with an axe around 9pm on Saturday after he allegedly broke into her home.
She turned 50 on Saturday but her celebrations turned into a nightmare, she said, as she had to defend herself from the intruder.
Ngcala told the Daily Dispatch yesterday she was so traumatised by the event she would never be able to celebrate her birthday again.
She appeared at the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday and was released on warning.
The case was postponed to April 6.
Speaking after her court appearance, Ngcala said she had switched the lights off and was sitting in the lounge waiting for her boyfriend when Ndungu broke in through the kitchen.
“He thought I was in the bedroom so I ran into the bathroom and took an axe. I waited for him to come out,” she said.
Ngcala said he went back to the kitchen after he could not find her and was looking for household goods to steal.
Ngcala then pounced on Ndungu with the axe.
They struggled for the axe but “luckily I managed to overpower him and I hit him again and again until I could not remove the axe.
“I switched on the lights, took a towel and called the neighbours because he was alive when I left him and I feared he could wake up,” she said.
Ngcala lives with her 17-year-old daughter, who was not at home at the time. She said her home has been broken into several times before.
Ngcala, who served in the army between 1994 and 2005, said she killed Ndungu in self-defence as she believed her life was in danger.
“I was very scared that the man wanted to rape me and my reaction was to defend myself,” she said.
Ngcala’s neighbour, Nothemba Mgebeza, said Ndungu had been terrorising the community for years.
Ndungu’s family could not be reached for comment last night.
King William’s Town spokeswoman Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said Ngcala was charged with murder and immediately released. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
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