Umlazi Woman Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping And Murder Of Five-Year-Old Boy Over Gambling Debt

An Umlazi woman has admitted to kidnapping and murdering five-year-old Simphiwe Ntobeko Xaba, telling the Durban High Court that she targeted the child because she blamed his mother for introducing her to gambling, which left her overwhelmed by debt.

Sibongile Happiness Ngwadla, 40, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of murder, kidnapping and attempted extortion. The court heard that the offences were committed in August 2025.

Umlazi Woman Says Gambling Debt Motivated Kidnapping And Murder

In a plea statement read before the court, Ngwadla admitted that she abducted Ntobeko on 22 August 2025 before taking him to the Ezimeleni informal settlement, where her relative, Sinenhlanhla Mbotho, lived.

She said she used a burner phone to send text messages to the boy's mother, Ntombifikile Xaba, falsely claiming he had been kidnapped and demanding a R60,000 eWallet payment for his safe return.

Ngwadla told the court she wanted the money to settle debts she had accumulated through online gambling.

"I resented the deceased’s mother, who introduced me to gambling, for failing to assist me when I fell on hard times, and I sought to make her pay for it," she said in her plea.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Namakgale Retail Store Stabbing: Woman Arrested For Attempted Murder In Limpopo

She admitted that once she realised her extortion attempt had failed because police and community members had launched an intensive search for the child, she decided to kill him.

"The police and the community were actively looking for the missing child, and his picture was being circulated on social media. I decided to kill the deceased to avoid detection and arrest."

Durban High Court Hears Child Was Killed To Conceal Extortion Plot

Ngwadla told the court that on 23 August she took Ntobeko from Mbotho's home to a secluded area in Isipingo, where she first tried to strangle him.

"He cried so much that I stopped," she said.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Mass Funeral Planned For Seven Victims Of KZN Kidnapping And Murder Tragedy

She then took the five-year-old to the Q Section of Umlazi, where she threw him into a river.

"I admit that I planned and executed the killing of the child to conceal the kidnapping and extortion, and therefore my actions were premeditated," Ngwadla said.

The court also heard that after the murder, she attempted to mislead investigators by sending a WhatsApp message to Mbotho claiming she had returned the child to his mother. She further alleged in the message that Xaba had later thrown her own son into the river.

The attempt to divert suspicion was unsuccessful, and Ngwadla was arrested on 27 August 2025.

Victim's Mother Rejects Gambling Claim As Sentencing Awaits

After pleading guilty, Ngwadla became emotional as her Legal Aid attorney, Zeera Fareed, read her statement. She later testified in mitigation of sentence and apologised to the victim's family.

"I apologise to the family that I have caused harm to. I am remorseful," she told the court.

She said she hoped her sentence would demonstrate the sincerity of her remorse and also expressed a desire to apologise to her five children. Before her arrest, she worked as a self-employed hairdresser in Durban.

Outside court, Ntombifikile Xaba rejected Ngwadla's claim that she had introduced her to gambling. She said Ngwadla had regularly borrowed her cellphone to gamble online and that this was how they became acquainted.

Xaba added that they had stopped speaking long before her son's kidnapping after Ngwadla broke her kettle and never replaced it.

In a victim impact statement read before the court, Xaba described the profound impact of losing her son.

"I trust no one. I have become overprotective of my two boys. I no longer allow them to leave my sight. I don’t allow them to go out and play with other children because I fear they will not return," she said.

The matter has been postponed until Thursday for sentencing proceedings.