Pretoria — The Pretoria High Court has sentenced Ncumisa Selani to three life terms for the murders of her two boyfriends and her 17-year-old son, bringing to a close a case that shocked residents and exposed a grim chain of violence concealed in a suburban backyard.
According to court findings, the killings occurred between 2016 and 2018 at Selani’s home in Pretoria. Prosecutors detailed how what began as a revenge plot escalated into a series of calculated murders, each victim buried on top of the other in a single grave.
The court heard that in 2016, after discovering she had contracted HIV, Selani blamed her Malawian boyfriend, Michael Changisa. Evidence presented during trial showed she enlisted another partner, Michael Phiri, a Zimbabwean national, to kill Changisa. His body was later buried in the yard.
In 2017, relations between Selani and Phiri deteriorated. Prosecutors said Selani and her teenage son murdered Phiri and buried him directly above Changisa’s remains.
The most disturbing turn came in 2018. The court found that Selani killed her own 17-year-old son after he allegedly began abusing drugs and threatened to expose the earlier killings unless she paid him money. His body was buried on top of the two previous victims.
The crimes remained hidden until 2020, when Selani’s younger son reportedly revealed details of the grave during a consultation with a traditional healer. Police were alerted and forensic teams uncovered the remains buried in the yard, leading to Selani’s arrest.
During sentencing, the court described the crimes as premeditated and deeply disturbing, noting the breach of trust and calculated concealment. The judge ruled that three life sentences were appropriate given the gravity of the offences.
Anyone with additional information relating to this story can contact us through email press@townpress.co.za.
Facebook Comments