‘Jail ex for killing my son’
Boy killed to ‘get back at mother’
THE mother of an 11-year-old boy who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and his body dumped in the bushes in KwaDabeka, yesterday called for the court to impose a life sentence on the killer.
Sbusiso Wiseman Xaba, 32, had maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2015, but this changed when he saw his ex-girlfriend, Ntombifikile Phewa, in court this week.
He told his lawyer he could not lie any more and not in the presence of the mother of the child, Sphesihle Vuyo Phewa.
Xaba pleaded guilty yesterday.
He kidnapped Sphesihle on November 28, 2015, and took him to his house in KwaDabeka where he questioned him about his mother’s whereabouts. His body was found nine days later.
According to the indictment, Xaba assaulted and strangled Sphesihle and slit his throat with a knife.
In his guilty plea, he confessed he was not happy when Phewa ended their relationship in September 2015.
He said on the day of the incident, he went to his ex-girlfriend’s house, but she was not there. He forcefully took Sphesihle to his home where he continued interrogating him. He claimed that the boy swore at him and he became angry. He took out a knife and stabbed him in the neck.
“He fell down and I realised that he was dead. I took his body and wrapped it in a curtain, and to the nearby bush. After a day or two, I sent his mother a message (SMS) advising her where the deceased was,” his plea read.
Acting on the information, police arrested Xaba in Greytown. He was hiding at the home of another girlfriend.
Xaba’s attorney, M W Dlamini, pleaded with the court to impose the minimum sentence prescribed for murder.
He said Xaba was a first offender and had shown remorse by pleading guilty.
He argued the murder was not premeditated, saying Xaba’s anger had caused him to do what he did.
State advocate Bonga Mbokazi said Xaba murdered the young boy to get back at his mother for ending their relationship.
He said the court should consider that the child was only 11 years old and had his whole life ahead of him.
He argued that Xaba had no right to interrogate the child about his mother’s whereabouts long after she had ended the relationship.
“The boy loved him and trusted him as a stepfather. He has two children of his own and I wonder how he would feel if somebody were to kill his own children,” he said.
Mbokazi said the fact that the accused had pleaded guilty did not change the seriousness of the crime committed.
He said Xaba, as an adult, could have easily whipped the child for swearing at him and argued there was no need for him to use violence.
Xaba is expected to be sentenced today.
An emotional Phewa yesterday said she wanted the court to lock up her son’s killer and throw away the key.
“Nothing will bring my son back, but the least that the court can do for me is to give him a life sentence,” she said.
Outside court, she broke down and was inconsolable. Her sisters tried to comfort her.
“My son did not deserve to die like this. He had done nothing wrong,” she said as tears ran down her face.