Mbabane – The High Court has convicted Ayanda Vukani Nxumalo of murder after rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defence when he fatally shot a man outside a drinking establishment in Ngwane Park nearly three years ago.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice B.W. Magagula found that the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Nxumalo unlawfully killed Sizwe Kima Dlamini during an altercation on August 2, 2023.
Nxumalo was also convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition after previously pleading guilty to contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act, 1964, by possessing a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol without a licence.
The court postponed the matter to a later date for arguments in mitigation and aggravation of sentence. Nxumalo remains in custody pending sentencing.
The murder charge centred on events outside a shopping complex in Ngwane Park, Manzini, where Dlamini sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He later died at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital.
During the trial, Nxumalo denied murdering Dlamini, maintaining that he acted in self-defence after the deceased allegedly became aggressive and advanced towards him with beer bottles. He claimed he had initially fired a warning shot but was left with no option but to shoot when the deceased continued approaching him.
The Crown, however, presented a different version through eyewitnesses, who testified that the deceased had retreated from an earlier confrontation and was attempting to flee when Nxumalo armed himself, pursued him behind parked vehicles and shot him at close range.
In his judgment, Justice Magagula accepted the evidence of the State witnesses, describing their accounts as consistent and supported by the surrounding evidence.
The judge found that the requirements for private defence had not been met because the deceased was no longer posing an imminent threat when he was shot.
“A person who is retreating cannot simultaneously constitute an imminent unlawful attack justifying the use of deadly force,” the judge held.
The court found that independent witnesses established that Dlamini was running away and attempting to hide when Nxumalo chased after him before firing the fatal shot.
Justice Magagula also rejected the defence’s alternative argument that the deceased’s conduct amounted to provocation sufficient to reduce the offence to culpable homicide.
The court held that Nxumalo had enough time to arm himself and pursue the deceased, demonstrating that the shooting was a deliberate act rather than one committed in the heat of the moment after losing self-control.
In reaching its decision, the court found that the Crown had proved legal intention, known as dolus eventualis, beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Magagula said the accused used a high-calibre 9mm pistol and deliberately fired at the deceased’s abdomen, a vulnerable part of the body containing vital organs. The court held that any reasonable person would have foreseen that shooting someone in the torso carried a substantial possibility of causing death.
The judge concluded that Nxumalo reconciled himself with that outcome when he pulled the trigger.
The court accordingly convicted Nxumalo of murder and confirmed his conviction on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The prosecution was led by N. Mhlanga from the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office, while Nxumalo was represented by N. Ndlangamandla of Mabila Attorneys. The matter will return to court for sentencing proceedings.
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