Denise Webber

Denise Webber (1939 - 2015)

Brief overview:

Denise (80), a pensioner living at Needham Street, Kabega Park, Port Elizabeth was tied up and strangled to death on 20th August 2015, when four men broke into her home.

Fikile Mengo, worked at the house of the deceased. He arranged with accused 2, 3 and 4 to rob and kill the deceased. On 20 August 2015, accused 1, who was on duty at the house, waited for his co-accused to arrive at the premises. They tied up the domestic worker, Nolukhanyo Mafuduka, before searching for the deceased, Denise Webber (80). They bound her hands and feet with cables and strangled her to death.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • They stole a number of household items to the value of R120,000.00, including two safes, flatscreen plasma TVs, jewellery and alcohol.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • It was through Mafuduka’s evidence and cell phone triangulation that the accused were arrested and charged.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • After five years, and a string of fixed trials within-a-trial, on Wednesday 2nd December, 2020, Port Elizabeth High Court judge Irma Schoeman found Fikile Mengo (27), Mkhuseli Ngqanda (29), Thanduxolo Vumazonke (23), and Sinethemba Nenembe (33), guilty of Denise's murder.
  • Sinethemba Nenembe was also charged with the abduction and murder of Jayde Panayiotou.
  • Update 29/04/2021: Mkhuseli Ngqanda (34), Sinethemba Nenembe (33), Thanduxolo Vumazonke (29), and Fikile Mengo (25), were sentenced in Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday.
  • Mengo and Vumazonke were each sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ngqanda and Nenembe were both sentenced to life in prison.

Additional Biographical Information:

"The State v Fikile Mengo and three others The accused were charged with murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances in the High Court in Port Elizabeth. Accused 1, Fikile Mengo, worked at the house of the deceased. He arranged with accused 2, 3 and 4 to rob and kill the deceased. On 20 August 2015, accused 1, who was on duty at the house, waited for his co-accused to arrive at the premises. They tied up the domestic worker, Nolukhanyo Mafuduka, before searching for the deceased, Denise Webber (80). They bound her hands and feet with cables and strangled her to death. They plundered and ransacked the house, stealing items worth R120 000. It was through Mafuduka’s evidence and cell phone triangulation that the accused were arrested and charged. The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and 15 years’ imprisonment for the robbery with aggravating circumstances." *https://www.npa.gov.za/sites/default/files/uploads/NPA%20NDPP%20Ann... (NPA report)

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/J93OC
• https://archive.is/o3DsA
• https://archive.is/TAeaf
• https://archive.is/EOIJO
• https://archive.is/AWNLo
• https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-herald-south-africa/20...
• https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/weekend-post-south-africa/...
• https://archive.is/phvTW
• https://archive.is/9cnRy
• https://archive.is/fCBcr (SAPS report)