Four of the five suspects accused of drugging and killing Prince Lethukuthula Zulu have been denied bail by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, north of Johannesburg. Zulu is the eldest son of King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Security guards found his body at his Johannesburg home on the 6th of November. It’s alleged the 50-year-old had been drugged by one of the suspects and that some of his household items and cash had been stolen.
The suspects, Tshegofatso Moremane, Margaret Koaile, Portia Mnola, Gontse Tlhoele and Dakalo Mbedzi, are suspected of running a syndicate that drugs people, before robbing them.
All four women linked to the death of Prince Zulu will have to remain behind bars until their next court appearance on the 15th of February. In her ruling, Magistrate Hleziphi Mkhasibe said it was not in the interest of justice to release them on bail as they would be putting the lives of men in bars and pubs at risk.
She says the women are conniving and deceitful and that they prey on men looking for a good time. The fifth suspect has been granted bail of R3000. The court heard that he wasn’t involved in the prince’s death and had merely been the driver for the other suspects.
During their previous court appearance last week, senior state prosecutor, Yusuf Baba, told the court the state would argue that Prince Zulu had been heavily drugged with sleeping tablets by one of the female suspects so that they could rob him of his belongings.
Baba said one of the suspects allegedly spiked the Prince’s drinks prior to them having sexual intercourse at his apartment and later gave him more sleeping pills.
At the time of the incident, three of the suspects were out on bail in connection with another matter of a similar nature in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
The Prince’s post-mortem and toxicology reports are still outstanding.
