Durban — A 29-year-old man was sentenced to a double life and 64-year sentence for two counts of murder, two counts of robbery, housebreaking with intent to steal, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Xolisani Mfana Ngubane for the crimes he committed between April and May 2019.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the offences happened in Ntshongweni and Hammarsdale.
“In the first instance, Ngubane killed Dumisani Moyo, the ANC Youth League branch chairperson, after being hired by party rivals to do so. Then, he killed Senzokuhle Mthethwa, a friend of his, following an argument. After killing Mthethwa and Ngubane, his accomplices kidnapped Mthethwa’s girlfriend and stole her cellphone and two vehicles. Ngubane was arrested after police traced the stolen cellphone,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
She said that in court, the State, represented by Senior State Advocates Lawrence Gcaba and Elvis Gcweka led the evidence of several eyewitnesses and cellphone evidence that corroborated their testimonies.
In aggravation of sentence, the State led the statements of Moyo’s and Mthethwa’s family members. They said the deaths were senseless and they had not been able to recover from the loss of their loved ones.
“Ngubane was sentenced to double life for the two murders,15 years imprisonment for each of the robberies, three years for the housebreaking, five years for kidnapping, 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder, 15 years each for the unlawful possession of a firearm and four years imprisonment each for the unlawful possession of ammunition. The court ordered that counts 3, 4 and 5 run concurrently and that counts 8 and 9 run concurrently, thus resulting in the sentence of two life terms and 64 years imprisonment,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
She added: “The NPA welcomes the sentence, and we commend the work done by the Prosecution and Investigation teams. We hope that sentences of this nature will serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals.
Moyo was gunned down outside his home with members of his family inside the house.
The sentencing comes as a high-level meeting is scheduled to be held before the end of the week to discuss urgent measures to resolve cases involving the killing of public representatives and discuss mechanisms to proactively end the ongoing heinous crimes in KZN.
That was according to the KZN Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison following recent attacks on ward councillors and officials in the province.
MEC Sipho Hlomuka called for an urgent meeting with police management to discuss the ongoing killing of public representatives in the province.
During the meeting, Hlomuka will also receive updates on all high-profile cases which are threatening the stability of the province and will receive progress in the implementation of the turnaround plans to fight against crime in the province.
In the early hours of Monday, ANC eThekwini Municipality councillor Mnqobi Molefe was gunned down.
Last week, IFP councillor Siyanda Magubane of ward 11 was killed in Msinga, and another survived the attack while they were driving on the R33.
Also last week, a senior official in uMlalazi, Reggie Ngema and a municipal manager’s close protector were killed in two separate incidents.
During President Cyril Ramaphosa’s keynote address at the South African Local Government Association council of mayors in East London last Thursday, he said they had seen a disturbing trend of attacks on councillors and municipal administrators.
“I am told that more than 300 councillors have been killed in the past few years by virtue of being councillors,” Ramaphosa said.
Daily News