Victims 6 Role Serial Killer Name Nicholas Ncama | Country South Africa Span of killings 1997–1997 Date apprehended 1997 | |
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Born c 1968 Port Elizabeth, South Africa Criminal penalty Life Sentence, effectively 42 years Similar Barend Strydom, Moses Sithole, Johannes Mashiane | ||
Nicholas Lungisa Ncama is a South African serial killer who was convicted in 1997 of 3 murders and sentenced to life in prison. His victims all came from the Port Elizabeth area of the Eastern Cape.
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Criminal Activity
Ncama raped and strangled his victims, some of whom were or were related to notable personalities in the Eastern Cape. His first victim was a local police woman, Constable Luyanda Ngcizela (21) whom he strangled with electrical wire. Her body was found by a bus stop in Empa, near to Mthatha on 28 May 1997. Ncama went on to murder provincial legislature secretary Nompumelelo Mpushe (26) on 1 June 1997. Her body was found near Fort Jackson. His next victim was Cynthia Ndlaku, the wife of a Port Elizabeth Methodist minister followed by Prasella Dayal (41), and her daughter, Rishmi (5) both of East London. His last murder was that of his step-daughter Sonia Zinto (15) whom he raped and strangled and left semi-naked in an empty room in KwaZakhele in October 1997.
Arrest and Conviction
Ncama was arrested in November 1997, but succeeded in escaping from police custody on 3 April 1998. Ncama, a martial arts enthusiast, had been directing police to various criminal exhibits in a house when he escaped.
He was sentenced in Grahamstown on 17 December 1998 to life imprisonment + an effective 42 years in jail. Ncama was ultimately convicted on 3 counts of murder (Ngcizela, Mpushe & Zanto), 1 count of rape, 1 count of indecent assault (Zanto) and 1 count of attempted rape.