'Bewitched' KZN man sentenced for killing relatives
A man has begun serving a double life sentence for the murder of two elderly women in Jozini, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Nkosiyethu Makhunga pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for killing his grandmother and her sister in the Ingwavuma area in February last year.
The court heard that the 37-year-old attacked the pair, Hlalaphi Mngomezulu and Nomhlangano Mngomezulu, after a traditional healer told him they were bewitching him.
Armed with a bush-knife and an illegal firearm, he stormed their home, shot one of the women, and hacked both to death.
KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkissoon-Kara says Makhunga fled to Eswatini after the incident.
"He was arrested the following day in Eswatini and detained at a police station there. Advocates from the International Cooperation Component within the DPP KwaZulu-Natal, Adv. Deneshree Naicker and Adv. Naveen Sewparsat worked on a formal request for Makhunga to be extradited. This request, which was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Adv. Elaine Harrison was transmitted through diplomatic channels to Eswatini.
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"Following an extradition enquiry in Eswatini, the court found Makhunga liable for extradition. The Eswatini Prime Minister confirmed the magistrate’s ruling and issued an order to surrender Makhunga to South Africa. Makhunga was handed over to Interpol SA officials and was subsequently arrested on his arrival in SA by the investigating officers.
"Makhunga was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for each of the two counts of murder, 10 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm and three years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in the effective sentence of life imprisonment."
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