Glebelands Hostel shooter sentenced to 17 years behind bars

Justice has been served at the violence-riddled Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi, south of Durban, after a 26-year-old man was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Monday.

SAPS said on Tuesday that Doris Odwa Kati was convicted of the September 2016 shooting of a 29-year-old woman at the hostel complex, and also of robbing his victim. The woman survived the attack.

Kati was sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder and a further seven for robbery.

It was not immediately clear whether the sentences will run concurrently.

According to media reports, Kati is also one of seven men charged for a string of murders at Glebelands.

The hostel, which is home to more than 20,000 people, has been plagued by hit-style murders. According to one researcher, there have been more than 100 deaths at or linked to the hostel since an outbreak of violence three years ago.

During the Moerane commission of inquiry to probe political killings in KwaZulu-Natal‚ witnesses described the hostel as a haven for hitmen and criminals.