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Guilty as charged: Lutendo Madume.

Lutendo Madume guilty of murder and kidnapping

 

A 25-year-old man who made newspaper headlines after he had killed a Grade 10 pupil at his Tshikwarani home was found guilty in the Thohoyandou High Court on 10 April.

Acting Judge Jackson Mushasha found Lutendo Madume guilty on charges of kidnapping and murder.

During the trial it emerged that the accused had kidnapped Tuwani Portia Fhetani (20) on 8 January 2013 and murdered her the next day. “The accused tendered a plea of not guilty, saying that at the time of the crime his mind was not working correctly,” said Judge Mushasha when delivering his verdict. Mushasha added that it was not true that Madume might have suffered from amnesia, because he remembered every detail leading to and following the murder.

It was clear to the judge that Ms Fhetani was no longer interested in a relationship with the accused. She tried to distance herself by visiting her aunt in Gauteng. However, the accused kept on threatening her, telling her he would kill her when she returned home.

A witness, Catherine, testified that Madume had also threatened her when speaking to her on the phone. The accused told her that if Fhetani did not return home, he would kill Catherine, so he would get an opportunity to kill Fhetani also when she returned to attend Catherine’s funeral.

When Fhetani returned, she approached headman Ludwik Mahuwa, asking him to intervene. Madume was summoned to Mahuwa’s place to solve the problem between him and Fhetani. Madume, however, continued to abuse Fhetani telephonically, so she eventually approached the Tshilwavhusiku Magistrate’s Court for help. Madume was summoned to appear at the court office on 9 January, but this never happened, because he stabbed Fhetani earlier that morning.

Another state witness and also a friend of the deceased, Ndivhuwo, testified that the relationship between Fhetani and the accused ended somewhere in November 2012. On 6 January she went to the deceased’s home. She stated that the deceased later got a telephone call from the accused, threatening her. He said he could do whatever he pleased to her. The following day Ndivhuwo got a call from Madume, who warned her to distance herself from the deceased because he (Madume) wanted to do something bad to the deceased.

Judge Mushasha summarised that Ndivhuwo accompanied the deceased to fetch her school results at the local school when the accused came and demanded that they go with him to Tshiungulela Secondary School. He bought a drink and later told Ndivhuwo to go her own way as he walked away with the deceased. Ndivhuwo reportedly phoned the police and notified them of the possible kidnapping.

The following morning, police officers arrived at Madume's house. Madume refused to open the door. Police officers then heard Tuwani screaming: “Mmawee! Yowee! U khou Mbulaya! (He’s killing me)”. When the police kicked the door open, Tuwani fell on her face. Madume was still holding a blood-stained knife in his hand.

When questioned in court, Madume denied ever threatening Tuwani and Catherine or ever calling Ndivhuwo. He also stated that he did not know headman Mahuwa.

Advocate Mbambadzeni Manwadu, acting for the defence, requested the court to grant his client an opportunity to consult with a social worker and a psychologist for reports in mitigation of sentence. State advocate Ratshilumela Makhera and acting Judge Mushasha agreed, and the three parties finally settled on another date for sentencing. The matter was postponed to 23 May.

Tuwani Fhetani was a Grade10 pupil at Tshiungulela Secondary School in Tshikwarani.
 

Date:17 April 2014

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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