Two persons, Saneliso Tshabalala, 23, and Lungani Ngwenya, 19, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ezakheni Regional Court in South Africa.

They were sentenced for the murder of Sithembe Mabizela, alongside additional sentences for related crimes of robbery and kidnapping committed in Ladysmith in March 2023.

The court heard how Mabizela and his friend Siyabonga Makhaza were attacked in their rented cottage in Ezakheni by four intruders on March 7. The assailants, after assaulting the victims and robbing them, forced them to a nearby bridge, demanding they jump off. While Makhaza managed to escape despite being stabbed, Mabizela was not able to flee and was later found deceased by police.

The swift prosecution that followed was spurred by Tshabalala’s confession to his mother, who courageously turned him in to the police. His co-accused, Ngwenya, was arrested shortly after.

During the sentencing, the prosecutor, Cwayita Ngcongo, presented a poignant victim impact statement from Mabizela’s grandmother, highlighting the bright future that Mabizela had promised for his family as he was nearing the completion of his studies.

Both Tshabalala and Ngwenya received life sentences for the murder, 15 years for housebreaking and robbery, and five years for each kidnapping charge, all to run concurrently. Additionally, the court declared both men unfit to possess firearms.