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Durban – Amahle Maliwa, 28, smiled as she left the dock after her case of murder and kidnapping was postponed at the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Maliwa is one of three people accused of poisoning and strangling to death two 10-year-old boys, two weeks ago in Clairwood, south of Durban.

Maliwa, Liziwe Ngwayishe (33) and Ali Yusaf (46) have been charged with two counts of murder, kidnapping and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Her smile didn’t impress the family of one of the slain boys, and the members of the community who packed the court’s public gallery.

Precious Phuthaza, the grandmother of one of the slain boys, Njabulo Mankayi, lashed out saying how could Maliwa smile when she has been accused of such a terrible crime.

Mankayi’s decomposed body was found on Monday, November 13, in the Grunter Gully Canal in Bayhead, south of Durban, while his friend Luyanda Msomi was found in a bush in Montclair, Durban, on Saturday, November 11.

Mankayi and Msomi – both Grade 3 pupils at Clairwood Boys Primary School — were last seen on Thursday, November 9, while boarding a bus home from school, before they were found dead.

Phuthaza said she wished that Maliwa gets convicted and sentenced to 10 life imprisonment terms for allegedly killing her grandson.

“Our son had a bright future ahead of him. He was only 10 years old,” she said.

Mankayi’s father Thandaza Mankayi said even though his son was buried on Sunday, he was still hurt.

“I don’t even want to speak or look at Amahle,” he said outside court, when asked whether he would like to speak to Maliwa.

Mankayi told News24 last week that he was in a romantic relationship with Maliwa.

He said he suspected that the boys were killed because he had ended his relationship with Maliwa on October 14.

Inside court, Maliwa told Magistrate Mohammed Motala that she failed to get the services of a private attorney.“I lost the attorney’s number, I was not able to contact the attorney,” she said.

During her first court appearance last week, she said she would be represented by her own attorney.

“I’ll now apply for a legal aid board lawyer,” said the softly-spoken Maliwa.

Ngwayishe and Yusaf, a traditional healer, abandoned their bail application.

The State asked the court to postpone the matter for further investigation.

Motala postponed the matter to January 26.

All three of the accused were remanded into custody-News24.