Pinetown court convicts former soldier Lwanda Mxolisi Zungu of murdering his wife

According to IOL, the Pinetown Regional Court has convicted former soldier Lwanda Mxolisi Zungu of murdering his wife, Tania Zungu, after a trial in which eyewitness and expert testimony played a central role.

What the court found

According to IOL, Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo ruled that the State proved its case against Zungu beyond a reasonable doubt. The magistrate said:

“We find, having regard to the evidence in its totality, that the State has succeeded in proving its case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Details of the shooting

According to IOL, the court heard that Tania Zungu was shot eight times in the couple’s Pinetown home on January 3, 2024, while their two young sons and the deceased’s mother were in the house. Ballistic experts testified that a semi-automatic pistol loaded with hollow-point ammunition was used and that such ammunition expands on impact.

Claims, rebuttals and expert evidence

According to IOL, Zungu testified that during an argument his wife took his firearm, that he heard the weapon being cocked and that it discharged several times while they struggled. The court rejected this account. The magistrate described the accused’s version as:

“rejected as being so improbable that it cannot reasonably be true and is rejected as false beyond reasonable doubt.”

According to IOL, the deceased’s mother, Gwendoline Msane, testified she rushed to the bedroom after hearing her daughter scream and, upon opening the door, saw Zungu shooting Tania. Magistrate Khumalo said this testimony was corroborated by Captain Solomon Modisane, whose scene reconstruction placed the shooter where Mrs Msane said she saw the accused standing.

According to IOL, Captain Modisane’s expert evidence excluded the possibility that Tania had shot herself or that the firearm discharged during a struggle. Forensic pathologist Dr Ashley Hammond told the court the first gunshot would have left the deceased about 90% incapacitated, and that close-range powder tattooing consistent with someone firing the weapon herself was absent.

Post-shooting conduct and next steps

According to IOL, Magistrate Khumalo said there was no evidence of an intruder and pointed to Zungu’s conduct after the shooting removing the weapon from the scene and driving to Johannesburg without seeking medical help or reporting the incident as

“inconsistent with innocence.”

According to IOL, prosecutor Rowan Souls informed the court that Zungu has no previous convictions. The matter was postponed to late August for sentencing proceedings.