Murder accused claims he found Ayabonga Mjilo dead before burying her
The defence presented the version during the cross-examination of the investigating officer, while the police maintain the accused admitted to the murder at the time of his arrest.
The man accused of killing Ayabonga Mjilo has told the Durban High Court that he woke up and found her dead in his house
Mfanafuthi Kunene was the last person seen with 23-year-old Mjilo before she was reported missing in December 2024.
She had joined her former call centre colleagues, including Kunene, at their Christmas party at an Umhlanga restaurant. Kunene and Mjilo left the party together.
Her body was later discovered in a shallow grave at his home in Inanda.
READ: Ayabonga Mjilo murder accused abandons bail bid
During the cross-examination of the investigating officer, Sergeant Nhlanhla Mhlongo, Kunene's attorney Judy Reddy gave the court another version of events in defence of the accused.
She said that while Mjilo was at Kunene’s house, the accused did not kill her.
The court heard that Kunene woke up and found her unresponsive with white foam coming out of her mouth.
Reddy claimed that Kunene then panicked and buried the lifeless body in a shallow grave in his yard.
But Mhlongo maintains that the accused admitted to the murder during his arrest. Mjilo’s family members and a group of Inkata Freedom Party supporters packed the courtroom on Wednesday.
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