- KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had two convicted criminals address delegates at a crime prevention summit.
- A career hijacker said even after studying in prison, he could not find work, resulting in him living off criminality.
- A woman married to a police officer spoke about how she orchestrated his murder after enduring years of abuse.
Two convicts laid bare details that led to their crimes, including kinks in the justice system, while a survivor of crime reflected on how she has had to live with a bullet in her body after she was raped, shot and dumped in a toilet, a crime prevention summit has heard.
The summit was held at the Olive Convention Centre on Friday in the wake of the release of the quarterly crime statistics that showed a steep increase in murder and other incidents.
KwaZulu-Natal top cop Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said police officers shouldn't have to bear the brunt of fighting crime, noting that all tiers of the criminal justice system must shoulder the responsibility.
He brought along a reformed career criminal, who was unable to find work and ended up back in prison, and a woman who orchestrated her husband's murder, to address justice department officials, academics, as well as the provincial head of the National Prosecuting Authority.
The tragic criminal
Nonkululeko Nqwabe told of how her police officer husband, a warrant officer, had fathered a child with another woman while she was pregnant with their first child.
"While I was astounded by that, he also had another child with another woman even after that. I asked myself, 'Why is my husband doing this' because I believed I was adequate. I was bearing kids for him and doing everything right," Nqwabe said.
She said after having a discussion about his infidelity, her husband stopped cheating, but instead began abusing her. They separated and her husband moved out.
"After that, he never bothered to find out if we are okay. He came back after three years and begged me to take him back. I refused," she said, adding that their child was born with a disability and always asked about his father.
"Because of this, we got back together," she said.
Nqwabe said soon after that the abuse resurfaced, and he started threatening her with his service pistol.
"I went to report this to the police, but when I did, they would be afraid to register my case because he was a senior warrant officer."
Officers would then drive her back home without registering a case or helping her, she said.
In one of the incidents, the police went to their home and her husband jumped over a fence and fled.
"He sprained his ankle and then he went to the clinic. He had a cast on his leg. I had to tend to him. He apologised and said he would never do it again."
After he recovered, he began using his firearm to intimidate her again. She called his captain at the police and informed the officer of the abuse.
"The captain took away his firearm and the situation got a little better for a while. But then he started abusing me again because the firearm was at the police station, and he could only use it while on duty," she said.
Her husband lied to another police captain by saying that their marriage was fine, and the captain returned his gun to him.
"I was shocked to see him with it again. I called the captain, who said my husband told him everything was smooth at home again. The captain apologised, and his firearm was taken back, and my husband started fighting with me again."
During one fight, she told him she did not feel safe.
"After that, every time I reported him, they would take him away for 30 minutes and bring him back. Every time he came back, he would say he was untouchable," Nqwabe added.
No family support
Desperate for support and hoping to escape the cycle of abuse, Nqwabe said she reached out to her mother. But the response she received was less than positive.
"She told me I cannot leave him and that I must go back. I was helpless. My husband's family did the same."
Nqwabe said arguments inevitably resurfaced and her husband began using a knife to intimidate her.
She said:
With her back against the wall and unable to take his abuse, Nqwabe then hired a professional killer.
"I was involved, and I agreed [to him being killed]. I had a hand in the death of my husband. I think I could have done better but this is my story," she said.
The hijacker and career criminal
Presently serving a life term, Sifiso Mazibuko began his criminal activities by hijacking cars, and when he realised that crime was "doable" as a career, his cycle in and out of the prison began.
"Sometimes I would be arrested but not get convicted and go back to the cycle of criminality. Because I was involved in different crimes, I realised I can get away with living from crime. I would also bribe people," he said.
Mazibuko said the correctional services department nearly rehabilitated him once, when he began studying.
"I acquired various skills in prison, but when I'd go out back into the world, there were no job opportunities. It was hard to demonstrate I was a changed person because of that.
"There are no opportunities because I am an ex-offender, and your criminal record is always everywhere you go. You are like an outcast. That means I was forced to do crime. It is what I knew and it gave me a livelihood."
Mazibuko had a message for delegates at the summit. "The leaders sitting here need to do more."
"After getting my certificates, I was reminded of who I was again, but the environment on the outside was not conducive to work.
"The correctional service processes are working, but there are challenges for offenders when they go outside. They then feel it would be easier to go back to jail," he added.
Mazibuko said something in the justice system needed to change drastically.
"I am making [a cry] to you, in this house, you are the people who can change the system. In jail, there are many people who have no hope. The system needs to change," he said.
The victim who took her life back
Sixolile Mbambo was the final speaker. She gave an emotional account of how she was raped, shot and dumped in a toilet.
She reflected on how she has had to live with a bullet in her body since the traumatic incident.
"I was raped and shot and left in a toilet to die. If the bullet in me is moved, I will die," she said.
Her perpetrator was arrested. Soon after, Mbambo resolved to approach correctional services so she could share her story with prisoners in an effort to help them understand how their crimes impacted their victims.
"I also wanted to understand why men behaved like this," she added.
The prisoners responded positively to her message, giving Mbambo the courage to confront her perpetrator.
"But I regretted meeting him. I never got what I wanted. He showed no remorse. He raped and shot me and left in me a toilet to die. I wanted to know why. I then realised that the life sentence is not his, but mine."
The stigma of being raped was not easy to overcome, she added.
"I am living with a bullet in my body, I am on chronic pain medication, and the bullet is a [constant] reminder of the incident. Part of me feels good to have released some of the anger after speaking [to the perpetrator]."
Recently, she discovered her assailant was up for parole.
"I do not feel he deserves parole after how he behaved when I met with him. I am still suffering. If it were up to me, he would be in prison for the rest of his life."
She encouraged other victims of crime not to give up.
"Report it to the authorities, and do not bottle up your emotions. We are true survivors."
KwaZulu-Natal crime stats
Crime statistics from January to March 2022, released on Friday, revealed that three KwaZulu-Natal police stations recorded the most murders in the country. Inanda, Umlazi and Plessislaer had a collective 245 cases.
KwaZulu-Natal also registered the most murders in South Africa, with 1 576, up 23% from the previous quarter.
Inanda police station registered 98 rape cases in just three months, meaning that just more than one rape was reported per day.
It ranked number one for sexual offences in the same period, recording 105 cases.
In total, 2 017 rape cases were reported in KwaZulu-Natal, with the country sitting at 10 818 cases.
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