Durban - The sentences handed to the two KwaZulu-Natal men found guilty of the rape and murder of 86-year-old Catholic nun Getrud Tiefebacher in Ixopo last month was welcomed by the provincial commissioner on Friday.
“This will send a clear message to the criminals that if they involve themselves [in] any criminal activities, they will serve long time in prison. I also commend the task team members who were investigating this case by making sure that the matter is fully investigated and the accused are convicted,” said KZN provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni.
The men guilty of rape, murder, and robbery – 24-year-old Sbongiseni Phungula and 25-year-old Mondli Shoza – appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday and were sentenced to two life terms each for murder and rape with a further sentence of 18 years each for robbery.
Shoza and Phungula were convicted after they pleaded guilty to killing Tiefebacher in mid-April.
Tiefebacher was a nun at the Sacred Heart Convent in Ixopo, KZN, and was found dead in her room on April 18. She had been tied up with a typewriter cord, suffocated, and raped. Some of Tiefebacher’s property had also been stolen but was later recovered from the suspects who were linked to the crime through DNA evidence too.
ANA