A 31-year-old Pinetown man accused of beheading his 80-year-old grandmother remains behind bars as he struggles to secure a home should he be granted bail. On Tuesday the man abandoned bail for the second time in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
Durban — In an about-turn, a man alleged to have beheaded his grandmother then kicked around her head around like a soccer ball, abandoned his bail application.
Thabo Ntokozo Nzimande appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday where he was expected to apply for bail. He had previously abandoned bail because he had no home to go to had he been released.
But on the last occasion that Nzimande was before the court in August, he appeared on a screen monitor from Westville Prison via the Audio Visual Remand (AVR) System, and indicated that he now wished to exercise his right to make a bail application.
However on Tuesday after the State placed the matter on record for the bail application, Nzimande through his Legal Aid representative said he was abandoning bail once again.
The 31-year-old has been in custody since his arrest in June after police responded to reports of a man who was walking around the yard of an apartment at an estate on Maurice Nicholas Road.
On arrival police found the body of 80-year-old Beatrice DeLange lying in the bedroom without the head, which was found in the lounge.
Nzimande was found at the scene wearing blood-stained clothes.
The case was adjourned to October for further investigation; in court the State said that DNA results were outstanding while witness statements, the crime scene photo album, the accused’s medical records from a rehab facility had all been filed.
In June, following his first appearance in court, Nzimande was evaluated by a district surgeon at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth. The preliminary report found that he was unfit to stand trial and recommended that he be booked for further psychological evaluation.
In the report, Nzimande is diagnosed as having bipolar mood disorder as well as substance-induced psychotic disorder.
The doctor noted that Nzimande had two head injuries as a child, and had a history of substance abuse which included rock, cocaine, alcohol, and cannabis. He was unable to give an account of himself and could not remember the incident at all.
The accused in the report admitted to auditory hallucinations and told the doctor that his brother was a known psychiatric patient on treatment.
However, further psychiatric evaluation at the Fort Napier psychiatric hospital found that Nzimande was not mentally ill and could stand trial.
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