Woman who killed her own gogo is 'evil' and should serve life behind bars, say family members

• A 33-year-old woman has been convicted for murdering her grandmother in December 2019. 
• The woman appeared in the Gauteng High Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on Tuesday. 
• She told the court it wasn't her intention to kill her grandmother, but she was under the influence of drugs.

The cousin of a 33-year-old woman who suffocated her own grandmother, set her alight and buried her in her yard in December 2019, has described her as an "evil woman".

Nomaswazi Rachel Tshabalala covered the shallow grave with a steel box and then used her grandmother Nomalanga Hilda Tshabalala's bank and South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards.

Tshabalala reported her grandmother missing and even pretended to help the family look for the 62-year-old woman.  

On Tuesday, Tshabalala, who lived with her grandmother in Emdeni, Soweto, pleaded guilty to all charges against her.

"It wasn't my intention," said Tshabalala, who wept throughout her appearance in the Gauteng High Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court.

Tshabalala said she was under the influence of drugs when she killed her grandmother.

Her cousin, Sibongile Tshabalala, who wept as she heard details of how her grandmother was killed, described Tshabalala as "evil".

READ | 'I was influenced by drugs' - woman pleads guilty to killing grandmother, setting body alight

"She is evil. She watched as everyone went up and down looking for gogo (grandmother), but she kept quiet. If she had a heart, she would have told us the truth. We never saw gogo's flesh but only her bones. That is the most painful part," she said.

"I am very hurt. To find out the details of what really happened [is] really painful. It would have been better if this was done by someone from outside, but it was done by someone we live with. The person she did things for. It's really sad. It feels like I am in a bad dream, and I will wake up from it. I am still trying to process everything."

Another cousin, Siyabonga, said the family would hopefully find closure after the sentencing. 

He said: 

Siyabonga said Tshabalala's tears in court did not move him. "The best sentence would be life in prison," he said.

In her plea statement, Tshabalala said she was in her bedroom when her grandmother started shouting from the kitchen in 2019.

"I went to check what was happening, and she started yelling at me, saying I am making... a fool of her, I am still in a relationship with the father of my child who is abusive towards me, and that I must pack my things and go and stay with him."

Tshabalala said her grandmother continued yelling until she went to buy drugs.

"After buying the drugs, I found the deceased already packing out my things and placing them in the kitchen. She continued yelling at me, and we ended up engaging in a fight. I took the calabash and hit her once on her head, and she collapsed."

Tshabalala said she went to her bedroom and continued to consume drugs.

She said: 

"I then started cleaning blood on the floor. In the early hours of the following day, around 02:00 in the morning, I proceeded to the backyard, where I dug a shallow grave and buried the body of the deceased. Upon realising the body was not fitting in the grave, I then took the petrol which was in the container and burnt her legs, and I covered her body with the steel box that was always [in] the backyard."

While Nomalanga was missing, her family rented out the house to tenants.

The truth about what happened to the woman only came to light several months after Tshabalala was arrested on fraud charges.

As Tshabalala remained in prison, a tenant, who was cleaning the yard, found the old woman's remains and contacted the police.

Acting Judge Samuel Makamu found Tshabalala guilty of premeditated murder and charges of theft, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.  

READ | Woman allegedly kills grandmother, buries body in garden then goes on spending spree with her cards

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane welcomed the conviction.

"We've held the view that the murder of the elderly woman was premeditated, and the court has now convicted her in terms of Section 51 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which then confirms that indeed she planned to kill the elderly woman. As the NPA, we are satisfied. We also appreciate that she did not waste the court's time and pleaded guilty to all charges."

Tshabalala is expected back in court on 7 October for sentencing proceedings.