'I am remorseful': Mom of five pleads guilty to kidnapping and killing child by throwing him in the river

Sibongile Happiness Ngwadla has pleaded guilty to brutally killing Simphiwe Ntobeko Xaba from Umlazi in August 2025.

An Umlazi woman has pleaded guilty to the tragic kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old Simphiwe Ntobeko Xaba in August 2025, telling the Durban High Court that she targeted him because she blamed his mother for introducing her to gambling, which left her drowning in debt.

Sibongile Happiness Ngwadla, 40, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of murder, kidnapping, and attempted extortion.

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

Using a burner phone, she sent text messages to the child’s mother, Ntombifikile Xaba, claiming the boy had been kidnapped and demanding a R60,000 eWallet payment in exchange for his safe return.