Man who pleaded guilty to killing MUT student Xolile Mbatha to be sentenced next week

Emotional scenes played out at the Durban high court on Thursday when a man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) third-year student Xolile Mbatha, made a fleeting appearance.

Bongani Mlambo, 28, last week pleaded guilty to the charge before high court judge Sharmaine Balton. Proceedings were cut short on Thursday as the judge was reluctant to go ahead with sentencing without having seen the postmortem report.

Mbatha, from rural Msinga, was killed at the Ark Royal residence in the Point precinct.

Mlambo, from Hluhluwe in northern KwaZulu-Natal, told the court the relationship started after they connected on Facebook in 2018. He said their relationship had gone well until Mbatha started communicating with a fellow congregant, which complicated things.

He said when he had queried this with her, she told him they were merely exchanging verses.

He admitted to having stabbed Mbatha before taking a taxi to Umlazi and at a later stage a taxi to Hluhluwe. Mlambo handed himself over to the police on September 20.

In court, state prosecutor advocate S Madondo requested an adjournment as the postmortem report was not ready.

Balton expressed frustration at the state preparing a guilty plea without seeing a post mortem report. 

EFF supporters who packed the public gallery wore T-shirts with Mbatha’s face. Mlambo attempted to avoid the public gallery by wearing a hoodie.

EFF Student Command convener at the institution Lindokuhle Nxumalo said they were disappointed by the delays.

“We are really saddened, especially as there are lot of logistics that need to be taken into account in coming to court. This is especially painful for the family, who travelled all the way to witness the sentencing,” said Nxumalo.

He remained hopeful that the court would make a favourable sentence when the matter resumes. “Hope that this would also set a precedent so that the scourge of gender-based violence is stifled,” said Nxumalo.

In 2020 the Durban high court sentenced Thabani Mzolo to life imprisonment for killing MUT student Xolile Khumalo. Khumalo was shot and killed inside the student residence in Durban in May 2018.

Nxumalo said they had been emphatic in calling for the institution to be a safe place. “We do not feel safe as students ... [but] till today it’s business as usual. It’s our duty to organise a march to say we are not safe,” said Nxumalo.

Another student, Thembelihle Mazeka, 26, berated the state for failing women in the country, saying women did not need protection from men, who instead should take responsibility to stop the bullying.

She called for the state to intensify its efforts in training police officers. “Whenever women head to the police station to report a case, they are always told they should go back and iron out issues with their partners. State and male people should take accountability,” said Mazeka.

Mbatha’s family, who were visibly distraught, declined to comment.

The matter was adjourned to October 25.

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