KZN man sentenced for New Year’s Eve murder of 5-year-old niece
A northern KwaZulu-Natal man who admitted to killing his five-year-old niece and hiding her body in a three-legged pot has been sentenced to life in prison.
The 27-year-old was sentenced in the Mtubatuba Regional Court on Wednesday.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says the little girl was murdered on New Year’s Eve in 2024.
At the time, her family had gathered at their home in Hlabisa to ring in the new year.
KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says the child's uncle was seen entering the room where she was sleeping, and later he was seen carrying a white sack towards his shack.
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When the family could not find the girl, they started searching for her.
"Concerned for her safety, family members questioned the accused on her whereabouts. He informed them that the child was at his shack. Despite a search of the surrounding area, the child was not found. When questioned again, the accused fled the scene," said Ramkisson-Kara.
"The family then returned to the accused’s shack, where the child’s body was discovered inside a white sack, which was placed in a three-legged pot. A blood-stained knife was found on the floor nearby. The accused later presented himself at the police station, where he reported that he had stabbed the child. He was subsequently arrested."
Ramkisson-Kara said in a victim impact statement presented to the court, the child’s mother said she was struggling to come to terms with the fact that her brother murdered her daughter.
"The mother described the trauma suffered by her family, stating that she remains in shock and struggles to come to terms with the fact that her brother was responsible for her child’s death. She described her child as joyful and innocent."
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