New documentary to explore case of the 'rugby killer'
07/25/2024 04:40 AM
At the end of last year, former Blue Bulls rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana had his appeal denied by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), ensuring he would remain behind bars for a host of horrific crimes committed during a ‘reign of terror’.
Ntshongwana was convicted for brutally killing four people with an axe all within the space of a week back in 2011.
Dubbed the ‘axeman’ after the murders, he was also implicated in the rape and kidnapping of a woman, as well as two other attempted murders.
It’s now been announced that Showmax will be releasing a new documentary series – Dark Side of Glory – bringing together sports and true-crime.
The case of ‘rugby killer’ Joseph Ntshongwana will be part of the premiere
The first episode, The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer, will be shown on Showmax on Wednesday, 31 July 2024. The jaw-dropping 76-minute feature documentary follows Ntshongwana, who played for South Africa at U21 level and for the Blue Bulls between 1998 and 2001.
Ten years later, he was arrested and convicted for killing four men with an axe, and wounding two others. According to the statement released by Multi Choice, he allegedly claimed to be avenging the gang rape and subsequent HIV infection of his daughter – but police found he had no children…
"There's a saying that goes, 'He couldn't hurt a fly,'" says his former Blue Bulls teammate, Springbok winger McNeil Hendricks. "It's hard to believe that Joseph Ntshongwana, as we knew him, had chopped people's heads off."
Other interviews include captain Rico Naidoo, colonels Jason McGray and Ze-Ev Krein, detective Marius Van Der Looy, and former South African Police Service head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, as well as senior state advocate Nadira Moosa, psychiatrist Dr Zuber Moola, rugby journalist Brenden Nel, and key witnesses, among others.
"I felt it was crucial to ensure that the testimonies of the victims and witnesses in The Durban Axe Murderer were heard," says Perretta. "Fikile Mkhwanazi, the partner of murder victim Paulus Hlongwa, sharing her story was particularly powerful."
You can see the trailer below
Meanwhile, the second episode, Death in the Heartlands, premieres on Showmax on Wednesday, 7 August 2024. The 86-minute feature documentary investigates the murder of three female runners in Kenya in 2021: Edith Muthoni, a day later Agnes Tirop, and six months later Damaris Muthee Mutua. All had allegedly been killed by the men closest to them – their partners or coaches.
