Danisa Masuku Zimpapers Writer
A GOOD Samaritan who rushed a 23-year-old Bulawayo Polytechnic student to hospital after allegedly finding her bleeding from multiple stab wounds has told the High Court how she struggled to breathe before dying upon admission.
Ms Nomvula Dube, a 33-year-old general hand at Mpilo Central Hospital, yesterday recounted the distressing moments when she found Inobubele Mhlanga lying in a pool of blood along Corridor Road in Cowdray Park on November 4, 2024.
Ms Dube was testifying during the trial of Thamsanqa Ndebele (28) and Elton Sebata (40), who are accused of fatally stabbing the student during an alleged robbery.
The two appeared before Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Naison Chivayo facing murder charges, which they both denied. Ndebele and Sebata, who are represented by Mr Dixon Abraham and Mr Maclean Mahaso respectively, were remanded in custody to November 26 for continuation of the trial.
Ms Dube told the court that she was driving with her boyfriend, Mr Nqabutho Moyo, at around 8PM when they noticed a crowd gathered along the road.
“On 4 November 2024, at around 8PM, I was in the company of my boyfriend, Nqabutho Moyo when I saw a crowd of people along Corridor Road in Cowdray Park suburb. We got suspicious and stopped to see what was happening,” she said.
Ms Dube said that upon approaching the scene, she found the deceased lying in a pool of blood and struggling to breathe.
“I observed the deceased lying in a pool of blood, struggling to breathe. Upon noticing the deceased’s distressing situation, I gently lifted the deceased into my car and rushed her to Mpilo Central Hospital, where she died upon admission,” she said.
Ms Dube said she later obtained the deceased’s particulars, contacted her relatives and advised them to rush to the hospital.
The court also heard an emotional account from the deceased’s mother, Ms Bongani Mhlanga (55), who recounted the trauma she experienced following her daughter’s death.
However, she told the court that she did not know either of the accused persons.
A police officer stationed at Cowdray Park Police Station told the court that a tip-off received on November 6, 2024, led to the arrest of Ndebele and Sebata.
“I received a tip-off which led to the arrest of the two accused persons. Upon interviewing the accused persons, they gave their explanations in written form. I then took the accused persons with their written responses and handed them over to CID Homicide detectives for further investigations,” said the officer.
According to the State’s case, on November 4, 2024, at around 8PM, Inobubele had disembarked from a commuter omnibus along Corridor Road, near Assemblies of God Church in Cowdray Park, while on her way home from Bulawayo Polytechnic.
She was pursuing a Diploma in Fashion and Design.
The State alleges that as she turned into an unnamed road leading to her residence, the accused persons waylaid her.
One of the men allegedly grabbed her from behind while the other snatched her handbag.
When Inobubele screamed for help, Sebata allegedly stabbed her several times in the chest in an attempt to silence her.
The two allegedly fled into the darkness with her handbag and US$30, leaving her bleeding at the scene.
She was subsequently discovered by Ms Dube and rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital, where she died upon admission.
Mr Kenneth Shava and Ms Elaine Kanengoni appeared for the State.
