The Mpumalanga High Court in South Africa has issued three life sentences to a 39-year-old police officer, Sizwe Cedric Khoza, for the murder of his wife and her siblings.
Khoza, who served at Masoyi police station, fatally shot his wife, 35-year-old Nomthandazo Mnisi, last year. Additionally, he shot her 32-year-old sister, Colisile Mnisi, and her 42-year-old brother, Dennis Mkhantshwa, in Hazyview on April 30, 2023.
During a family meeting aimed at resolving marital issues with his wife, Khoza callously shot the siblings.
The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, by Judge Takalani Vincent Ratshibvumo, who also deemed Khoza medically unfit to possess a firearm.
Judge Ratshibvumo imposed the sentence on Khoza as a deterrent for the Masoye community.
“I checked to see if there is any substantial and compelling reason that justifies deviation from the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment,” said Judge Ratshibvumo. “The more I zoomed into these traditional mitigating factors, instead of me finding anything substantial and compelling to justify the imposition of anything less, unfortunately, I found even more aggravating factors.
“In fact, deviation from the prescribed sentences will send a wrong message to the community. The community of Masoye and the people of Mpumalanga have to know that the courts are not going to tolerate gender-based violence. The message has to go out to the streets of Mbombela that anyone who violates women will be dealt with by the courts mercilessly
“For the simple reason that you have one life, the legislature also provides that any sentence that is imposed together with life imprisonment shall run concurrently with life imprisonment. As a result, the sentences in count number 2 and 3 shall run concurrently with sentences in count 1,” said the Judge.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga, Khoza had last week, pleaded guilty in the High Court in Mbombela to three counts of murder after he shot the two sisters who were working as nurses, and their brother Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa.
“The accused in the matter (Khoza) pleaded guilty on three counts of murder and the matter was postponed to June 10, 2024 for sentencing proceedings,” Mpumalanga NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said last week.
