Macumbe’s murderer Khoza sentenced to 25 years in jail

The charming and confident demeanor of Percy Khoza fell apart when he was sentenced on Friday in the South Gauteng High Court to 25 years in prison for murder.

Dressed in a grey sweater‚ the usually cool and collected brown-eyed beau broke into tears as he held onto his mother‚ weeping‚ as she stroked his back‚ uttering words in his ear.

The 24-year-old was sentenced for killing his former girlfriend Mary-Lee Macumbe in October 2014 at his Troyeville‚ Johannesburg‚ home. He stabbed her 38 times in the neck. Her body was found stuffed into the boot of her car‚ which was found dumped in Malvern.

His aunt is made of sterner stuff. “Don’t cry. Take it like a man‚” she said. “Don’t cry in front of cameras. You will come back to your mother. She won’t die before you return.”

Her words seemed to spur on his tears as he wailed even more.

It seems this was the first time Khoza had understood the gravity of what he had done and what lay ahead. On every other court appearance‚ he had walked out of court confidently after chatting to his mother and a young woman‚ believed to his girlfriend‚ who usually occupied the bench directly behind him in the court gallery.

When Khoza took to the stand during the trial‚ he denied killing Macumbe. He had told the court that it was his then girlfriend‚ Kgomotso Masemola‚ who had murdered Macumbe in a jealous fit of rage after finding Macumbe at his home.

 He claimed that Masemola had threatened to harm his daughter and mother if he did not help her dispose of the body.

Masemola was arrested after being found in possession of Macumbe’s phone. She was released after police were informed that she had received Macumbe’s Samsung cellphone as a gift from Khoza.

Her cellphone records ruled her out as a suspect as they showed she was nowhere near the scene of the crime when Macumbe was bludgeoned to death.

On Friday‚ Masemola’s mother was also present in court. She was happy to see Khoza being led down to the police cells where he would exchange his sleek stylish clothes for an orange prison uniform.

“It’s good. He must go! Whose child was meant to go prison? Mine?” she asked rhetorically.

For Macumbe’s mother‚ Suzan Langa‚ it was a bitter sweet end to a journey that has brought nothing but misery to her and her family.

“I cannot say that I am feeling better‚ that there is closure‚” she said.

Her son‚ Ayrton said the most difficult thing he had to go through each time he came to court was to face his sister’s killer.

Langa who herself seemed drained and frail following the proceedings questioned what had brought Khoza to tears on Friday.

“Why is he crying today? He never cried during the trial. He never showed any remorse‚” she said. “He is crying because he knows where he is going. He is not crying because he is sorry for what he did.”

Meanwhile‚ Khoza’s aunt approached Macumbe’s family.

“She said that she is sorry for everything and at least it is over now. We can all put this to rest‚” said Ayrton.

But as the Macumbe family left the court on Friday‚ they did not even pass a glance to Khoza’s mother and aunt who sat on the benches outside the courtroom.

“I don’t know if I will ever forgive him. I think I need to forgive myself. I need to do this for myself because if I hold too much anger towards him‚ I am the one who is going to suffer‚” the broken mother told TimesLIVE.

For the Macumbe family‚ it was hard to completely close the chapter as they still had unanswered questions as to why Khoza had brutally ended their daughter’s life.