A mother wept in court as the man who stabbed her son to death in 2021, was sentenced in the Durban Regional Court.
Melusi Khoza, 23, will spend the next 15 years in prison after he killed Sifundo Thabiso Mhlongo following an altercation.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the two got into an argument about which one of them should have greeted the other first. Khoza then pulled out a knife and stabbed Mhlongo, then fled the scene while Mhlongo bled to death. Khoza remained on the run for a few months, but was eventually arrested after police received information regarding his whereabouts.
"In court, Prosecutor Shenaaz Hoosen led the eyewitness testimonies of two people, who were present when the stabbing took place. Hoosen further handed in a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by Mhlongo’s mother, and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Prudence Geraud," Ramkisson-Kara said.
In her statement, the woman said that she had high hopes for her son to get a tertiary qualification and improve the quality of their lives. She said that she was reliant on him, and his death had a devastating effect on her and their family.
Ramkisson-Kara added that since Khoza was charged with a murder that was not planned or premeditated, the court found no compelling or substantial circumstances which justified a deviation from the minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment. He was therefore sentenced accordingly.
IOL