Durban - A 21-year-old man was sentenced to an an effective 20 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a 2021 housebreaking, murder and robbery in the Camperdown Regional Court on Friday.
Natasha Kara, KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, said that in his plea Sanele Zwane said he knew where the deceased, Makhosonke Mbambo 61, lived and that he owned a car.
Zwane’s 17-year-old co-accused pleaded not guilty, and their cases were separated.
Zwane, in his plea statement said, that on the day of the incident, he and his co-accused acted in common purpose by breaking into Mbambo’s house. When Mbambo woke up, he stabbed him several times with a knife. In the struggle, Mbambo suffered a blunt force injury to the head and died.
According to Kara, the pair then removed the car’s log book, Mbambo’s ID book and made off with the vehicle.
“They were linked to the murder and subsequently arrested as a result of selling parts of the vehicle to witnesses.”
She said their fingerprints were also found at the scene.
Kara said in aggravation of sentence, the victim’s wife and daughter compiled a victim impact statement facilitated by the court preparation officer Nokuvela Zulu, and submitted by Regional Court prosecutor, Veraysha Moodley.
In their statements they said their family was “not coping” due to Mbambo’s tragic death, and they have suffered both emotionally and financially”. They said Mbambo was a pensioner and loved by all.
Kara said that in sentencing Zwane, the court deviated from life imprisonment which is the minimum sentence for murder, and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment.
“The court did this, taking into consideration his young age and that he had pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery and housebreaking. The sentences are to run concurrently, with him serving an effective 20 years.”
Kara said the Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Elaine Zungu, welcomed the sentence and hoped that even though it will not bring back their loved one, that the family feels that justice has been served.
“She also commended the excellent collaborative work between the police investigation team and the prosecution, which led to the successful resolution of this case,” Kara said.