Mlamuli Mondli Khoza has been sentenced to five life terms for the brutal murder of five relatives in KwaZulu-Natal, following a guilty plea that revealed a tragic backstory.
Durban — The Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced 28-year-old Mlamuli Mondli Khoza to five life terms on Friday after he pleaded guilty (Section 112 Plea) to killing his relatives.
In October 2024, Khoza killed five of his relatives in the Bethany area of Bergville, in western KwaZulu-Natal.
Provincial National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that in his plea, Khoza stated that on October 11, he watched soccer and drank at a tavern and suspects that at some point, someone spiked his drink.
Then on October 12, Khoza was home when his aunt and her family visited. They were sitting at the dining room table when his mother offered him some food. He became angry and ignored her. He said that he had suspected that his mother had bewitched him for some time.
Khoza said he went into the kitchen and fetched a knife. He returned to the dining room and stabbed his relatives including three adults (one man and two women) and two minor children.
He then fled the house with the knife but when he returned later, the police were there and he handed himself over to them.
Khoza said that during the attack, he knew his actions were illegal but continued. Khoza expressed genuine remorse for his actions during the court proceedings
Ramkisson-Kara said that in aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Zinhle Sokhela, handed in Victim Impact Statements, compiled by members of the deceased’s families, and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Mbali Komane.
The children of one of the deceased women described their mother as a loving person. They now live in endless agony and shock, and the image of their mother’s lifeless body is forever on their minds.
Other family members said they do not want to see Khoza ever again. They live in fear and terror, and hope the court will give him a fitting sentence.
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