Life term for murderous nephew, 25

A YOUNG man who killed his aunt with a pickaxe handle while crazed by drugs was jailed for life in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Regional magistrate Sizakele Sihlahla sentenced Sakhile Dlephu, 25, to life behind bars for bashing his aunt to death and robbing her last year.

He sentenced Dlephu to a further 10-year term for a second count of robbery with aggravating circumstances but the two sentences will run concurrently.

According to the evidence Nokuthula Ntsheyiya was attacked by Dlephu in her Mandela Park home in March 2017. Dlephu took her personal items including two cellphones, her Sassa card, bank cards, car keys and car radio.

Sakhile’s co-accused, Ntsheyiya’s son Balisa Dlephu, pleaded not guilty while Dlephu pleaded guilty to both counts.

In her pre-sentencing argument state prosecutor Noluthando Mgqibelo said there was no compelling reason for the court to deviate from the minimum sentence, which is a life term for murder.

“He waited for the victim at her home and disposed of the body so that when the body was eventually found it had already begun to decompose,” said Mgqibelo.

In a statement read out by his lawyer Nolwazi Magazi, Sakhile admitted he had acted unlawfully and it was wrong to commit murder, and said he expected no favours from the court and was ready to bear the consequences of his actions.

He said he was under the influence of drugs, but that was no excuse for the crime.

The postmortem revealed that Ntsheyiya died from severe head injuries and brain damage.

Sihlahla said there was no doubt Sakhile realised he had committed an offence and had not wasted the court’s time by pleading not guilty.

But, said Sihlahla, the loss of life had been unnecessary. “This matter has proven once again that we do not need drugs in our society because the consequences of using drugs can be deadly as users find it easy to kill just to satisfy their addiction. Unfortunately drugs are everywhere and easily available, destroying our society in the process,” he lamented.

He said Ntsheyiya was killed in cold blood and her dignity was undermined.

“Society is against murder and robbery and it is sad that there are people who can be so cruel to others. If you hadn’t killed her she may have later withdrawn the robbery charges because she is your relative, and that is worse because as a relative you should have protected her,” he said.

Sihlahla said he hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others who might be thinking of committing a similar crime.

He said he would have Balisa Dlephu’s matter transferred to another court as he already knew what happened from Sakhile Dlephu’s account and this could be prejudicial to Balisa’s case.

The case was postponed to May 21 to have the trial arrangements sent to another court.