Devil Made Me Do It: South African Man Attributes Murder of Two Women to Vicious Forces

In a courtroom confession in Durban, South Africa, Thokozani Mhlongo, a 60-year-old security guard, attributed the gruesome murder of two women to malevolent forces, claiming that "the devil used him" to carry out the tragic crime.

Mhlongo's testimony unfolded during mitigation proceedings in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. He recounted how "demons" and the "devil" whispered to him and compelled him to commit the heinous acts.

"What I did was painful. The devil whispered to me that I must kill her," Mhlongo told the courtroom, as quoted by local media.

The tragic saga began when Mhlongo was falsely accused by Mbuso of stealing food from the kitchen of the child development center owned by Xulu, who employed Mbuso as her assistant.

Fueling the conflict, according to the accused, Xulu gossiped about him, exacerbating tensions within the creche. As resentment festered, Mhlongo sought revenge.

"I asked Xulu if she told her [a gardener at the creche], as I had asked her to keep it a secret, and she apologised. A few days later, I heard people talking about me behind my back and laughing that I have no home. This upset me and I wanted to ask Xulu, as only she knew," Mhlongo told the judge. "I asked Mbuso about the false accusation as well. They ignored me and started talking to each other. I got angry and went to my security room as I wanted revenge for how they were treating me."

Armed with nunchucks and a rope, he confronted his victims. First, he hit Mbuso on the back of the head with the nunchucks, knocking her unconscious. He then strangled Xulu until she was motionless.

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While Mbuso attempted to escape into the kitchen, she was soon caught by Mhlongo.

"I made her sit on the chair and tied her legs with the rope. I tied her hands to her back with a rope. I covered her face with a plastic packet and placed my nunchucks around her neck. I strangled her with the nunchucks until she was still," the security guard narrated.

A Guilty Plea and Apology

Last Thursday, Mhlongo pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two life terms for each murder and three years for theft for stealing his victims' mobile phones.

In his emotional plea for leniency, he expressed remorse. In the courtroom, he apologized to the two families of the deceased women for his unfathomable actions.

"It happened so quickly [that the] devil used me. Xulu was gossiping about me and she was causing conflict amongst us in the creche. However, I did not plan to kill her, it just happened," he said during mitigation of sentence proceedings. "I know that I could have just left the job if I was not happy, but Xulu had already promised me a plot of land where I was going to build my house. She was a Good Samaritan and I was surprised to find out that she was gossiping about me and our discussions."

Mhlongo added that the demons used him to kill Mbuso. He said that after Mbuso saw him kill Xulu, he thought she would report him to the police, and he would be arrested.

Passing sentence, Judge Nompumelelo Radebe delivered a damning assessment of Mhlongo's actions. She stated that he had meticulously planned the murders, waiting for a day when only Xulu and Mbuso would be at the creche. To further aggravate his crimes, he chose Women's Day as the date for their deaths.

"Xulu was killed in her own place and Mbuso was killed in her place of employment by someone they trusted. What makes it worse is that they were vulnerable," Radebe said. "Mr. Mhlongo, I am not angry with you, but justice must be served. You did not show any care and you are even proud to say that you did not know that it was a public holiday when you killed them."