JOHANNESBURG – The case of two children killed in Soweto took a twist when the grandmother of one the boys appeared court in connection with the murder.

Tshiamo Rabanye and his friend Mduduzi Zulu were found mutilated and killed last week.

The children went missing a day before their bodies were discovered.

Rabanye’s grandmother and her boyfriend were charged with murder at the Protea Magistrates Court on Friday.

Fifty-year-old Nqobile Ndlovu and her 36-year-old partner Mthunzi Mzwakhe Zulu were arrested on Wednesday.

READ: Grandmother of one of the boys killed in Soweto, her partner charged with murder

Silence fell over the Protea Magistrates Court when the grandmother of a 6-year-old Rabanye appeared before a packed gallery.

Dressed in long black puffer coat, Ndlovu and her partner Zulu strolled into the dock showing little to no emotion.

Despite being read their rights and offered fair representation in the form of legal aid – the pair opted to represent themselves.

Zulu, at one point, said he had nothing to do with the murders.

The pair faces charges including two counts of murder, kidnapping, perjury and defeating the ends of justice.

The case was postponed to 5 May for the court to settle on a date for a formal bail application.

Both Ndlovu and Zulu will remain in custody.

A woman, 50, and partner, 35, will appear in the Protea Magistrates Court in #Soweto this morning for the murders of Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, and Mduduzi Nqobizitha Zulu, 5.
The boys’ bodies were found #mutilated in separate locations, a few kilometers apart, last week. @orrin417 pic.twitter.com/raaKYcUICm

‘ EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 28, 2023

Nqobile Ndlovu, 50, leaves the dock followed by Mthunzi Mzwakhe Zulu, 39.

They have been charged with the callous murder and mutilation of #SowetoBoys Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, and his friend Mduduzi Zulu, 5.

Ndlovu is the grandmother of Rabanye on his father’s side. @orrin417 pic.twitter.com/YFJEfvyrNW

‘ EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 28, 2023