DAUGHTER AND HITMEN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR MOTHER’S MURDER
The Lusikisiki Regional Court sentenced Nolufefe Jongwana (36), Masixolo Darke (28) and Ntsikayomzi Mpentsheni (36), to life imprisonment for the murder of Jongwana’s mother, Nomonde (54). The deceased was found stabbed multiple times on her upper body in her rented flat in Bambisana where she was a teacher, in the district of Lusikisiki, on 12 June 2019. Police investigations led to the arrest of her daughter and her two accomplices on 02 October 2019, in Feni Location, near the district of Peddie, more than 400 kilometers from the scene of the crime. During their arrest, the Nolufefe had already made multiple insurance claims on her mother’s life.
The trio made confessions of their roles in the murder, admitting that Nolufefe hired the two men to kill her mother. She gave both men R1500 for transport, to travel to Lusikisiki from Peddie. She described her mother’s flat and how they could gain entry, and they chose to stab her as shooting her would have raised alarm in the neighbourhood. They, after that, travelled back to Peddie. On receiving the news of her mother’s death, Nolufefe acted shocked, posting on social media platforms seeking assistance for her mother’s “killers to be found”. Civic formations, both in Lusikisiki and Peddie, served petitions to law enforcement authorities, demanding justice for the slain teacher.
During the trial, the trio pleaded not guilty and reserved the basis of their defence. Acting regional court prosecutor Siyabonga Macebo, relied on circumstantial evidence and confessions they made upon their arrest, which they were also disputing. After a trial within trial, their confessions were ruled admissible. The court concluded that the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, consequently found the accused guilty of premeditated murder, and sentenced them accordingly. The prosecutor requested the magistrate not to deviate from the minimum sentence as there were no compelling circumstances and the court agreed.
