Man and nephew sentenced to 5 life terms, 55 years in jail for Nongoma attacks

A man and his nephew were sentenced at the Durban High Court to five terms of life and 55 years imprisonment, for the murders, attempted murders, and arson they committed in May 2017 and October 2021, in the Nongoma area.

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said Dennis Zwane, 41, and his nephew Mfundo Zwane, 30, were sentenced on Friday February 23.

“Before the May 2017 incident, Dennis had an altercation with Bhekuyise Shiba , 55, an inyanga (healer) in the area. Dennis accused Shiba of bewitching his dog, then on May 1, 2017, both the Zwane men went to Shiba’s homestead on the pretence of wanting to apologise to him.

“Shiba was with his family, and he shook hands with them after the apology. Since they were leaving, they asked Shiba to accompany them to the gate of his homestead. There they shot him several times, in full view of his family members. Shiba died and the men fled the scene. They were arrested shortly after,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

They appeared in court and were denied bail following an opposed bail application. However, at some point, the court refused the state’s request (due to outstanding statements) for a further postponement and the murder charge against the men was provisionally withdrawn, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

Once the statements were obtained, the men returned to court on a summons for the murder charge and were released on warning, she added.

“To eliminate the family members who were likely to implicate the Zwanes in Shiba’s murder, the men went back to Shiba’s homestead in the early hours of October 4, 2021. They doused the house with petrol and lit it, trapping the 11 people who were inside. Among them were Shiba’s immediate family members, including six children aged between 18 months and 12 years old.

“The men also fired shots through the windows. The adults in the house were able to push five of the children through the window thus saving them. An 18-month-old, who was physically challenged, was carried out by his mother. However, they were beaten by the men and thrown back into the house which was on fire,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

Even though the men fled the scene, the family members recognised them and reported this to the police, leading to their arrest, she added.

In court, State Advocate Xolani Sindane led the testimonies of eyewitnesses, statements of the deceased witnesses (in the case of Mr Shiba’s murder), postmortem reports and the evidence of the police officials who visited the scene.

Mr Sindane also handed in Victim Impact Statements, compiled by the family members, and facilitated by Court Preparation Officers Phumlile Khumalo and Sthembile Cebekhulu. In their statements, the various family members said that they were traumatised and fearful for their lives. They have difficulty sleeping and are now without a home as it was destroyed during the fire.

“Each of the men was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for each of the murders, 10 years imprisonment for arson, 10 years imprisonment for each of the two counts of attempted murders, and five years imprisonment for each of the further counts of attempted murders. The court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment each. They were also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.