Mining supervisor killed over mealie-meal

Siphilisiwe Mloyi
THE love of money is the root of all evil, so goes the adage.

But a man from Esigodini learnt it the hard way that the love of food can also be the root of all evil after he was viciously attacked with logs and later a�?burieda�� with huge rocks over a five kilogramme bag of mealie-meal.

Bongani Ncube, a 46-year-old mining supervisor at Urek Mat 34 Mine in Esigodini, irked his colleagues when he refused to share his pack of mealie-meal.

Miners at the gold mine are each given a five kilogramme bag of mealie-meal per week and can decide to cook individually or as a group.

The deceased and his alleged attackers cooked as a group but when it was his turn to supply his share of mealie-meal, Ncube would allegedly withhold his mealie-meal, a situation that did not go down well with fellow miners.

Phathindaba Ndlovu, Phathisa Ndlovu, Mthandazo Ndlovu and Robson Nhlangano decided to take matters into their own hands and teach the mealie-meal a�?cheata�� a lesson.

The four men teamed up and lured the victim to a drinking hall at a shopping centre in Esigodini and allegedly poisoned his drink. It could not be ascertained if the Ndlovus are related.

The deceaseda��s mother Talitha Ncube said the attack on her son was a well orchestrated plan.

a�?His killers forced him to take some pills with beer to get him heavily intoxicated and they started assaulting him with logs. I still do not understand how they killed my son over mealie-meal. If he had refused to share his mealie-meal then they should have left him alone instead of killing him,a�? said Thalitha.

She further alleged that after the vicious attack, the four men a�?burieda�� his son alive with rocks.

a�?My son died in a painful way. They assaulted him severely with logs and after realising that he was unconscious they placed rocks weighing more than 30 kilogrammes on top of him. His death still haunts me,a�? she said.

After the attack, Ncube sustained broken ribs and head injuries. He died on his way to Esigodini Hospital.

After a tip off from members of the community three of the attackers were quickly arrested by police.

The fourth suspect is on the run.

a�?We received a report that Bongani Ncube was murdered on an undisclosed work related dispute. They were drinking with Ncube and after an altercation, the four men assaulted and left him unconscious. The accused are Phathisa Ndlovu (28), Phathindaba Ndlovu (28) and Robson Nhlangano (30).We are still looking for Mthandazo Ndlovu to assist us with investigations,a�? said Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Nkosilathi Sibanda. .