IT was an emotional moment at the High Court as the lone survivor of the Goje Township shooting, an incident in which four women were gunned down, relived the horrifying night when Deputy Sheriff Vusi Charles Mncina allegedly opened fire on her and her companions.
The accused faces four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder stemming from the 2023 Ezulwini tragedy. Led in testimony by Principal Crown Counsel Sandile Mdluli, witness Nokthula Mkhwanazi delivered a harrowing and emotional account of how what began as a day of celebration suddenly descended into terror.
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Mkhwanazi, the only surviving victim, told the court that she and her friends pleaded desperately for their lives, but the accused allegedly continued to fire at them without hesitation.
According to Mkhwanazi, the gathering had been organised by her friend Cynthia Shongwe, who was celebrating overcoming personal hardships, including the loss of her husband the previous year.
She disclosed how the atmosphere was lively when she arrived at Shongwe’s home with several people already in attendance. Among the guests, she recalled, was a man introduced to her as a “Hlophe guy,” who was said to be a chief from the Mlindazwe area.
The evening, however, took a concerning turn when Shongwe confided to a small group including Mkhwanazi that Deputy Sheriff Mncina appeared unhappy.
She had reportedly told them that Mncina claimed to have seen her kissing another man earlier in the day.
Seeking privacy due to the commotion this revelation caused, the women decided to move to the pantry to continue their discussion.
Inside the pantry, the group debated why Mncina would be upset over what they believed to be a harmless, non-romantic “baby kiss.”
When questioned by the court, Mkhwanazi clarified that she understood the kiss to be merely a light peck on the mouth, not a romantic gesture. She further explained that the women questioned why the accused was so invested in the matter, given that Shongwe was not his wife and he himself was married with a family.
As the night wound down, most guests left the party, leaving behind only close friends and relatives. Mkhwanazi said she was preparing to leave when Mncina approached her, tapped her on the shoulder, and instructed her to call Shongwe. She complied, unaware of the violence that was about to unfold.
Meanwhile, one of her friends, Fikile, waited outside for her boyfriend to pick her up. Mkhwanazi recounted that a red van soon arrived, carrying Hlophe and his girlfriend, who had returned to drop off a glass they had borrowed earlier.
Returning to the pantry afterward, Mkhwanazi joked about the vehicle, teasing Fikile about bragging over a boyfriend who drove “a heap of scrap metal.”
As she was about to leave the pantry, she found Mncina standing right at the doorway. According to Mkhwanazi, he asked Shongwe what was happening.
Shongwe responded with a simple, startled “Hhawu,” and before anyone could react, Mncina allegedly drew his gun and shot her at point-blank range.
What followed, Mkhwanazi said, was pure chaos and terror. She told the court that she froze in shock as Shongwe collapsed, fatally wounded. Another friend, Lungile, immediately began begging Mncina for forgiveness, pleading with him not to kill them. But Mncina, she said, ignored their cries.
Mercy
While the group pleaded for mercy, he continued to fire into the small pantry, shooting Lungile, Fazo, and Fikile in quick succession. She recalled seeing the gun pointed at her before feeling the force of a bullet striking her chest. She fell onto the pile of bodies; her friends who had already been shot. The bullet pierced her chest and exited through her back, puncturing a lung. She believes she lost consciousness for about an hour.
When she regained consciousness, the pantry door was closed. She managed to contact her son and inform him of what had occurred. Police arrived shortly afterward, and Mkhwanazi was rushed to hospital, where she remained for three to four weeks recovering from her injuries.
Under cross-examination, Mkhwanazi was asked about two foreign men who allegedly attended the party, but she maintained that she had not seen them. She also said she did not know the man who was said to have kissed Shongwe.
Mncina’s legal team challenged aspects of her account, stating that the accused would testify that he saw a man caressing Shongwe’s thigh and later witnessed her passionately kissing a foreign man outside. According to the defence, Mncina had been preparing to leave for a funeral in Bhunya when he went to retrieve his keys from Shongwe.
The defence claimed that when Shongwe answered a phone call inside the pantry, allegedly showing those inside who was calling, Lungile accused her of entertaining the very behaviour that was causing conflict with Mncina. The defence suggested that Mncina overheard mocking comments from the pantry, including remarks questioning why he was jealous and reminding him that he was not Shongwe’s husband.
They told the court that the Deputy Sheriff will claim he lost control in that moment, leading to the shooting. Mkhwanazi insisted she did not recall such conversations.
The courtroom grew heavy with emotion as Mkhwanazi recounted the traumatic ordeal. At several points, she broke down in tears, pausing for long moments to regain her composure. Court staff provided her with water and tissues, while supporters seated in the gallery were also seen quietly wiping tears.
Judge Titus Mlangeni acknowledged the difficulty of her testimony, noting that the court fully understood the emotional strain of revisiting such a painful memory.
In a surprising turn, Mkhwanazi was unable to physically identify Mncina in the courtroom when asked. He sat at the dock wearing eyeglasses, but the witness said she could not recognise him. She explained earlier that she had never interacted with him personally and only knew of him because others at the party mentioned him when he helped with a car that was not starting.
Due to heavy rain disrupting audibility within the courtroom, proceedings were postponed to Wednesday.
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