Durban - THE truth will always prevail, said a Mayville mother after her 10-year-old son’s killer was given two life sentences in the Durban High Court on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Daily News, Nomusa Msomi said she had made peace with her son Luyanda’s death.
Best friends Luyanda Msomi and Njabulo Mankayi, also 10, were killed by Liziwe Ngwayishe and Amahle Maliwa in November 2017. This was after Njabulo’s father, Thandazani Mankayi, ended a relationship with Maliwa in October that year.
Maliwa had tried to reconcile with him, but he had turned down her efforts which resulted in Ngwayishe and her plotting to kill Njabulo.
Maliwa pleaded guilty to the murders last month and is serving two life terms. She had testified against Ngwayishe.
They killed the boys by forcing potassium permanganate down their throats and used Luyanda’s school shirt to strangle him. Luyanda was killed to silence him as was playing with Njabulo at the time.
It was this cruelty that Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel referred to during sentencing.
“It is difficult to imagine the pain the boys went through when they were being killed. (Luyanda’s) face had burn marks from the potassium permanganate that was forced down his throat,” he said.
Ploos van Amstel said he found himself dealing with a woman who did not know the two boys but was helping out a friend to get back at a boyfriend. “(She) has shown no remorse.”
She was sentenced to life for each of the murders.
Defence advocate Bo Dlamini had earlier argued for a 20-year sentence, saying Ngwayishe was a good candidate for rehabilitation. He said Ngwayishe had dropped out of school in Grade 4 owing to financial constraints at home. He also argued that she had co-operated with police during their investigation.
Meanwhile, State Advocate Nadira Moosa argued that Ngwayishe deserved a life sentence owing to the gruesome nature of the crime.
Msomi said she was happy that justice was served and hoped this would serve as a deterrent to others.
“The pain I felt I would not wish on anyone,” she said. Her relationship with her fiancé had deteriorated and she was hospitalised for depression.