Cape Town - A 31-year-old man from Walmer in Gqeberha has been convicted and sentenced for a string of crimes, including murder, which he committed between 2013 and 2018.
Mnikeli Manzi was sentenced to 130 years imprisonment for his crimes.
According to the Eastern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu, Manzi committed almost all of his crimes in the Summerstrand area, with only one being perpetrated in Lorraine.
He was charged with murder which was reduced to culpable homicide, six cases of house breaking with the intent to rob, seven cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five cases of kidnapping, a case of housebreaking with the intent to steal and the theft of a motor vehicle.
Manzi’s fate was sealed after he was positively linked to his crimes via DNA.
“In June 2019, he was also charged for the murder of Hazel Huggins, 85, whose body was found on the morning of March 28, 2014. Ms Huggins was found tied up on the bedroom floor and murdered. She was living in a retirement village in Summerstrand,” Naidu said.
The court subsequently sentenced Manzi to 130 years imprisonment on all charges, some of which will run concurrently with others. In total, he will be effectively serve 35 years in jail.
Acting Police Commissioner for the Nelson Mandela Bay district Brigadier Luntu Ngubelanga welcomed the sentence imposed.
“The accused’s criminal reign has finally ended and he will now spend a very long time behind bars,” Ngubelanga said.
“We cannot afford to give criminals who brazenly terrorise our communities, any room to breathe. It is clear they will stop at nothing to get their way, including audaciously attacking the vulnerable in order to succeed with their devious acts.”
IOL