Sunday, December 15, 2024 - The Pietermaritzburg High Court in South Africa has sentenced a 38-year-old man, Sthembiso Nkosinathi Mthimkhulu, to six terms of life imprisonment for the m8rder of six of his relatives in February 2021 in the Nkanini area of Eshowe.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in a statement on
Thursday, December 12, 2024, said that before the incident, one of Mthimkhulu’s
relatives had passed away.
Mthimkhulu suspected that his uncle had practised witchcraft
on this person, causing them to die.
Mthimkhulu planned to kill his uncle and decided to use a
firearm to carry out his actions.
On 20 February 2021, Mthimkhulu drove to his uncle's
homestead where he found his uncle in the company of his (uncle’s) family.
Mthimkhulu opened fire on them, killing six of them,
including two minor children aged eight and 10 years old. He then fled the
scene and was arrested after his car was tracked to Greytown, where he had gone
to see a traditional healer.
In the state’s case, Advocate Mbongeni Chamane led the
testimony of an eyewitness.
Further, Adv, Chamane handed in Victim Impact Statements,
compiled by the deceased’s grandchildren, and facilitated by Court Preparation
Officers Nokuvela Mlotshwa and Amanda Nxumalo.
In her statement, the younger child drew pictures showing
her smiling before the incident and crying following the incident. The older
grandchild said that her parents had died when she was very young, so her
grandparents (the deceased) were like her parents. They took such good care of
her, and she misses them. She said that following the incident their family is
highly traumatised, and they live with fear and anxiety. In addition to the
sentence, Mthimkhulu was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA commends the work done by the Prosecution and
Police. It is incumbent on us to fight for justice on behalf of the victims of
crime. We hope that stringent sentences like this convey our commitment to the
fight against crime," the statement added.
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