Three men will spend the rest of their lives in jail for the part they played in the kidnapping and murder of a Verulam teen in 2020.

Andile Nhleko, 27, Mncedisi Mzobe, 27, and Lindani Ndlovu, 26, were sentenced at the Verulam Regional Court to life and various terms of imprisonment for the murder and kidnapping of a 16-year-old in April 2020. Their co-accused, Malusi Mthembu, 27, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for murder and three years imprisonment for the kidnapping.

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said the incident took place in the Hambanathi area of Tongaat, north of Durban. Another co-accused in this matter, Mlungisi Thabethe passed away before the trial started, she said.

“The 16-year-old was suspected of stealing alcohol from Thabethe’s premises. He was interrogated, and he eventually admitted to taking the alcohol. After the alcohol was recovered, the boy was kept in a room on the premises, and the other accused were called for. They assaulted the boy with different objects such as a sjambok, golf clubs and wooden sticks. They took turns, assaulting him for more than four hours,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

“At some point, the teenager’s sister arrived there after hearing from someone that he was being assaulted. She was told by Ndlovu to go and fetch clean clothes for the teenager so that he could be taken to the hospital. When she returned, she was told that the her brother had escaped.”

By this time the accused had loaded the teenager’s body onto a bakkie. They then attended a braai and birthday celebration for Thabethe.

Ms Ramkisson-Kara said after the birthday celebration, Nhleko, Mzobe and Ndlovu went to another area where they burned the body. The following morning Nhleko dismembered the body and placed it into a bag. The remains were dumped in a nearby river. Thabethe was initially arrested, followed by his co-accused.

“In court, prosecutor Nthuthuko Sidwell Mngadi led the evidence of a Section 204 witness who was present at the offence. The state led the evidence of another person who was also suspected of stealing the alcohol but was interrogated and released. The teenager’s sister told the court how she had gone to the premises and was told that her brother had escaped. The SAPS official who was present when the remains were found also testified in court,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

In aggravation of sentence, Mr Mngadi presented a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the boys mother. In her statement, the woman said that she was still traumatised by the incident. She said that following the incident, a video of her son being assaulted had been circulated on social media and this hurt her even more.

Nhleko and Mzobe were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and three years imprisonment for kidnapping.

Ndlovu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and four years imprisonment for kidnapping.

Mthembu was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for murder and three years imprisonment for kidnapping. In sentencing Mthembu, the court deviated to a lesser sentence, finding that he had left the premises at some stage during the assault and did not participate in the burning and dismembering of the deceased, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

She said the court convicted him on the principle of common purpose but found that he had only played an initial role in the offence. In addition to the sentence, the accused were declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. We hope that sentences of this nature demonstrate the NPA’s attitude towards such behaviour. The public is cautioned not to take the law into their own hands but rather consult the authorities in similar situations,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

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Four men sent to jail for 2020 kidnapping, murder of 16-year-old in Verulam

3 arrested for kidnapping, attempted murder and murder