The Lusikisiki Regional Court sentenced Nolufefe Jongwana (36) from Peddie, who was involved in the murdering of her mother, Nolundi Jongwana (54), on June 12, 2019, the sentencing took place on November 3, 2023.
She was sentenced with her two accomplices, Masixole Darke (28) and Ntsikayomzi Mpentsheni (36), to life imprisonment for the murder of the deceased.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, the deceased, was found stabbed multiple times on her upper body in her rented flat at Bambisana locality, where she was a teacher, in the district of Lusikisiki on June 12, 2019.
Tyali said police investigations led to the arrest of her daughter and her two accomplices on October 2, 2019, at the Feni location near the district of Peddie, more than 400 kilometers from the scene of the crime.
“During their arrest, Nolufefe had already made multiple insurance claims on her mother’s life. The trio made confessions of their role in the murder, admitting that Nolufefe hired the two men to kill her mother. She gave both of them R1500 for transport to travel to Lusikisiki from Peddie. She described her mother’s flat and how they could gain entry, and they chose to stab her as shooting her would have raised the alarm in the neighborhood,” said Tyali.
He added that after that, they travelled back to Peddie.
According to him, on receiving the news of her mother’s death, she acted shocked, posting on social media platforms seeking assistance for her mother’s “killers to be found.”
Tyali added that civic formations, both in Lusikisiki and Peddie, served petitions to law enforcement authorities demanding justice for the slain teacher.
“During the trial, the trio pleaded not guilty and reserved the basis of their defense. Acting Prosecutor Siyabonga Macebo relied on circumstances they made upon their arrest, which they were also disputing. After a trial within trial, their confessions were ruled admissible. The court concluded that the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, consequently found the accused guilty of premeditated murder, and sentenced them accordingly.”
Tyali said the Prosecutor requested the magistrate not to deviate from the minimum sentence as there were no compelling circumstances, and the court agreed.
