Despite the being given a lengthy life sentence of an effective 125 years direct imprisonment, the family of Mlamuli Khoza, 28, who stabbed five of his family members to death, are unrepentant.
“We will never forgive him for the cruelty he meted out on his own blood. He deserved death because in prison he will be treated like a VIP enjoying three meals a day. We had been gripped by fear since the incident thinking he would come back and finish us off.
“His cruelty left children in a state of mental trauma who lost their parents in the most brutal way. The children relied on him to protect the family as their uncle, but he inflicted unbearable pain to us all. For that we will never forgive him,” these were the chilling words of Sqiniseko Kubheka.
Family still hurting, dealing with trauma
Kubheka was speaking to Sunday World on Tuesday in the aftermath of the conviction and sentencing of Khoza by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
The brutal attacks took place in the village of Bethany in Bergville on the KZN far midlands on October 12. Khoza had been watching a football match at a local tavern while having a few drinks. He then claimed that at some point he harboured feelings that somebody had spiked his drinks and he became heavily intoxicated as a result.
Khoza subsequently went home to sleep it off. The following day his other relatives who had come for a visit were sitting with his mother in the family’s dining room. He was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of hate and untold evil spirits.
He accused his mom of bewitching him
In the spark of the moment, his mother appeared from the kitchen bringing him food. This was when Khoza became angry because he had suspected that his biological mother was the cause for his misfortunes. He believed his mother had bewitched him.
In a fit of rage, Khoza hurriedly grabbed a knife and returned to the dining room where he stabbed his relatives. These included three adults and two young children. The deceased were Bheki Hadebe, 62, his mother Sonto Hadebe, 60, Thulisile Hadebe, 37, Andile Khoza, 8, and Esihle Khoza, 2. After committing the heinous crime, he fled the scene. It eventually dawned on him that he had committed calamity. He then returned home hoping to resuscitate the deceased, to no avail. Police swooped on him on the same day and he confessed to the murders.
Another family member Simphiwe Hadebe explained that the wounds were still fresh.
“It’s an ordeal that one cannot easily forget. And it was like he was slaughtering animals. I still have vivid recollection of their lifeless bodies strewn on the floor. There was a lot of blood. I hope what he did haunts him for the rest of his life. He should not have an easy sleep while in prison,” Hadebe said.
Compelling case
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the state had presented a compelling case.
“The witness impact statement pointed to how the remaining family members now live in endless agony and shock. And the image of their mother’s lifeless body is forever on their minds. They live in fear, and terror,” Ramkisson-Kara explained.
