Francois Hugo was murdered on the morning of 28 April 2021 by three men who came to his home.
It was a senseless killing. He was a gentle old man and posed no threat to his attackers. The killers took very little and nothing of particular value. They left in his very old car.
The three murderers were caught and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
My father, Francois Hugo, was found dead at his home on 29 April 2021. His body was discovered by the Hilton police and a neighbour. He was found with his hands tied behind his back and his dog lying next to him trembling with fear.
The police had received an anonymous phone call telling them that they should investigate a green Toyota Tazz parked near a school in Sweetwaters township. The police traced the car to my father and went to his address in Walters Road, Hilton, to investigate.
It emerged later that three men had come to his home the previous morning, Wednesday 28 April. They had climbed over the locked gate and entered through a door my father had left open for his dog. My father had had his breakfast and a bath. They overpowered him as he was coming out of his bathroom. They tied his ankles with a belt and his hands with an electric extension cable. They tied his pyjama pants around his neck and mouth to gag him.
The exact events that followed remain unclear. During questioning, one of the murderers told the detectives that my father had said, “Just take what you want and go” and that my my father had not put up a fight.
The murderers left in my father’s car, which was seen on a traffic camera leaving Hilton at around noon. They must have killed my father before they left.
The autopsy found that my father had died of either asphyxiation or a blow his head. Both had occurred, but it was not possible to determine which had caused his death. The object used to deliver a blow to his head was never found.
The killers took very little. They took his shoes from his feet. They also took another pair of shoes that were still in the box, an old amplifier, a small amount of cash, an old laptop, a very simple cell phone and a kitchen knife. They left the TV and other items one might expect them to take.
It emerged that one of the criminals, Charles Ngcoya, had often loitered around the house and sometimes asked my father for tea and food. It seems that he had also stolen groceries from the kitchen, fridge and the boot of the car. My father’s caregiver, Thandi Khumalo, had a frightening encounter with him when he just walked into the house one morning.
The killers were caught almost by chance because one decided to return to the crime scene with a different accomplice.
On the morning of Tuesday, 4 May, the investigating detective showed Thandi and myself through the house and the crime scene. After the detective left, Thandi and I drank tea together on the veranda, both of us in a state of shock.
While we were sitting there, we were completely unaware that one of the killers and another accomplice had come down the driveway and watched us. Fortunately for us, they decided to leave us alone.
Instead, they attempted to burgle the house on other side of the street. While they were creeping through the bushes there, they were noticed by the gardener who notified the owner. The owner called her armed response company. Together, the police and security men apprehended the two intruders.
The arrest of one of the killers led to the identification of the other two. Some of the items they had stolen from my father’s house, including the keys to my father’s car, were found in their possession. This was very compelling evidence.
The three accused, Simphiwe Charles Nqoya, Kwazi Kunene and Kwanene Ntuli were charged with murder, house robbery and vehicle theft. On 14, May they appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court and were remanded in custody until trial.
In November 2021, the three accused decided to plead guilty to the charges. Presumably, they hoped they might be granted earlier parole. The strength of the evidence made convictions all but inevitable.
On 24 November, they were sentenced to 25 years in prison by the High Court in Pietermaritzburg.
They told the judge that they had heard about “an old white man who lived alone and didn’t lock his doors.” They claimed their motive was that they “needed money for food and to smoke”.
Distressingly, the murderers claimed they had left my father tied up but alive. This is not what the autopsy found and also contrary to their behaviour after the crime.
My father was an old man and presented no threat to them. His killers took nothing of great value. It was a completely senseless and pointless murder.
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