Durban — The finding after further psychiatric evaluation of a man accused of beheading his 80-year-old grandmother was that the 31-year-old is fit to stand trial.
On Monday, Thabo Ntokozo Nzimande appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where State prosecutor Ehud-Jadon Francke confirmed that a report from the government psychiatric hospital, Fort Napier, had been received.
“The accused is fit to stand trial as per the report. I make an application for the matter to be adjourned for further evidence. The crime scene photo album as well as chain statements have been filed, the post-mortem report is outstanding,” he said.
Nzimande, who is alleged to have decapitated Beatrice DeLange with a bush knife and kicked her head up and down with his feet like a soccer ball at their Pinetown home, was not in court but made a virtual appearance from Westville Prison via the audio-visual remand (AVR) system.
In June, after his first appearance in court, Nzimande was evaluated by a district surgeon at RK Khan Hospital. That preliminary report found that he was unfit to stand trial and recommended that he be booked a bed 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 sustained two head injuries as a child, and had a history of substance abuse which included rock (crack cocaine), cocaine, alcohol and cannabis.
The doctor found he was unable to give an account of himself and could not remember the incident at all.
In the report, the accused admitted to having auditory hallucinations and told the doctor his brother was a known psychiatric patient on treatment.
Nzimande’s Fort Napier panel consisted of two doctors who separately and independently examined him at the hospital.
“During the period of observation, he had psychiatric interviews, physical and neurological examinations, and urine drug tests. He was kept under constant observation by the psychiatric nursing staff … No psychiatric diagnosis …The accused is not mentally ill. He will be able to instruct his lawyer or follow court proceedings. There is insufficient information available for me to comment on the mental state of the accused at the time of the alleged offence,” reads the report.
Nzimande was arrested on June 7 after police responded to reports of a man who was walking around the yard of a flat at an estate in Maurice Nicholas Road.
On arrival, the police found the victim’s body lying in the bedroom without the head, which was found in the lounge.
Nzimande was found at the scene wearing blood-stained clothes.
He will appear again via AVR in September.
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