Three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of teacher Makhosazana Ngcobo, whose body was discovered in February 2020, following a thorough police investigation that linked them to the crime. | Armand Hough/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — This week, three men were sentenced for the 2020 brutal murder of a teacher in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The woman’s husband, a traditional healer and an accomplice were handed life imprisonment sentences for murder.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that on Tuesday, November 5, the Nkandla Regional Court sentenced Sabelo Victor Buthelezi, 46, Sphamandla Ntshingila, 46, and Celani Mvelo Buthelezi, 36, to life imprisonment each after the court found them guilty of the murder of Makhosazana Ngcobo, who was killed in February 2020.
Netshiunda said Ngcobo, who was from the Madiyana area and a teacher at Thalaneni Primary School was last seen on February 16, 2020, at the Nkandla taxi rank where she was waiting for her husband, Sabelo Buthelezi. The next day, her body was found by herdsmen in the Nkwalini area in Nkandla with multiple head injuries.
“Shrewd investigations by police managed to link her husband to the crime scene. Sabelo Buthelezi was then arrested on April 16, 2020, at the border with Mozambique as he attempted to flee the country,” Netshiunda explained.
“Further investigations led to the arrest of Ntshingila, a traditional healer as well as Celani Buthelezi.”
Netshiunda said the murder weapon and a Toyota Tazz used in the commission of the crime were also recovered.
“Police presented strong evidence which convinced the court to keep the trio behind bars until the day of their sentencing,” Netshiunda said.
Adding, KZN National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Ngcobo and Sabelo were married but none of their families knew about their marriage.
Ramkisson-Kara said before the incident, Sabelo decided to kill Ngcobo and asked his co-accused to help. He told Ngcobo he would meet her in the Nkandla town. He first fetched his co-accused in Nquthu before fetching Ngcobo.
She said they drove around Nkandla until it was dark. They then forced her to drink poison, chopped her with an axe on her head, and left her in the bushes. Her body was discovered by passers-by the following morning.
Ramkisson-Kara said the men were arrested four months later.
She said that in court, Prosecutor Sicelo Hlehla led the testimonies of several witnesses including the evidence of the person who had given Sabelo the weed killer, Ngcobo’s colleague who knew about her meeting with Sabelo and witnesses who had seen the Ngcobo in Sabelo’s car with two other men.
Cellphone evidence was also essential to the state’s case.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in aggravation of sentence, the state led the evidence of one of Ngcobo’s family members who mentioned the negative impact her death has had on their lives.
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