Siyabonga Shelembe, who had his aunt killed because he believed her success was due to her involvement in witchcraft and that she had bewitched members of their family, will spend the rest of his life in jail.
On Monday April 8 the Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Shelembe, 37, and his co-accused Thandolwethu Sibisi, 23, Sphelele Cele, 21, and Thobani Mkhize, 24, to various terms of imprisonment following their convictions on murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said before the incident, Shelembe had enlisted the assistance of Sibisi to kill his aunt, Tholakele Cynthia Shelembe, 53, as he believed that she was successful because she was practising witchcraft and bewitching the family members. Sibisi then sought the assistance of Cele and Mkhize to kill Ms Tholakele.
“On November, 7, 2021, Sibisi, Cele and Mkhize travelled from Umlazi to the Nyangwini area in the Ugu district where they met Shelembe. He advised them of his plan to kill Tholakele. He further told them that they should take both of her motor vehicles, as their payment,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“Later that day, Sibisi, Cele and Mkhize went to Tholakele’s homestead. There they hit her with a knobkerrie given to them by Shelembe, and Mkhize strangled her to death. They then reported to Shelembe that she was dead; and drove her two motor vehicles back to Umlazi. One of the vehicles was burned and the other was sold. The men shared the proceeds of the sale among themselves.”
Shelembe was arrested the following day, as someone had seen him when the men were taking Tholakele’s motor vehicles. Based on Shelembe’s information, his co-accused were subsequently arrested, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
In the state’s case, Advocate Nkonzo Mlotshwa led the evidence of a section 204 witness who had been with the men when they committed the offences.
Their confession statements were admitted in court as evidence. In Victim Impact Statements compiled by Tholakele’s daughter and pastor, the daughter said that her mother had been a pillar of strength to their family, and that she had supported many family members who were now struggling to cope. The pastor described Tholakele as a reliable force in the church and the community at large.
For murder, Shelembe and Mkhize were sentenced to life imprisonment each, while Sibisi and Cele were sentenced to 25 years and 18 years imprisonment, respectively, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“The court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment for them as the court ruled that they were young when they committed these offences. Sibisi was 20 years old and Cele was 18 years old at the time of the offence. The court also considered that they had testified in mitigation of the sentence, and they had apologised to Tholakele’s family,” she added.
“In respect of the robbery with aggravating circumstances, Shelembe and Mkhize were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each, while Sibisi and Cele were sentenced to 12 years and 10 years imprisonment, respectively. Their application for leave to appeal against both conviction and sentence was dismissed,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
