Durban- A KwaZulu-Natal man was sentenced to 30 years in jail for shooting dead a blind 58-year-woman after a fight with his girlfriend.
Bheki Khumalo, 42, was sentenced in the Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court on Monday for the 2015 murder of Thembisile Dlamini - a diabetic who had an amputated leg.
The court heard that the incident came after Khumalo had a a fight with his then girlfriend Sithembile Dlamini who lived with the woman in Amatikwe, north of Durban.
In her sentencing, Magistrate E La Grange noted how Khumalo had gone to the house at 3am and forced his way in to the home.
Describing the woman as a blind defenseless, diabetic with one leg, La Grange pointed out that Khumalo had shot her in the mouth.
Three days later she died from her injuries.
“An old lady lost her life because she was shot in the mouth,” she said.
La Grange said Khumalo then proceeded to light various fires around the house which resulted in it being razed to the ground.
State prosecutor Kaystree Ramsujh had noted that the damage caused by the fire was about R404 000.
La Grange said the murder was a premeditated act.
She sentenced Khumalo to 20 years for murder and 10 years for arson.
The murders are to run consecutively, she said.