'We thought we'd close this chapter,' say family as sentencing in Sibusiso Khwinana murder case postponed

The family of murdered Matwetwe star Sibusiso Khwinana thought they would finally be able to move on when his killer was sentenced on Monday.

The high court in Pretoria was expected to hand down sentence after Julius Lucas was found guilty of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and contravening the Immigration Act. But proceedings stalled because no interpreter was available.

“As a family, it's difficult for us, we thought that today [Monday] would be the last day so that we can move on from what has happened,” Khwinana’s uncle and family spokesperson Benjamin Khwinana said outside court.

The state and the defence indicated they were ready to proceed. However, a Swahili interpreter was not available. Judge Portia Phahlane was told the interpreter was attending training.

The matter was postponed to April 20.

Benjamin Khwinana said the family needed closure and felt let down.

Khwinana, 25, was murdered on March 1 2019 after attending a screening of Matwetwe, a coming-of-age film in which he played the lead role. He was attacked by thieves and stabbed in the stomach outside the Sterland Mall during a struggle for his cellphone.

“We thought we were going to close this chapter and move on, but hopefully on April 20  everything will go accordingly and we will get to move on. It has been difficult for us as a family, because Sbu was the one helping with the finances of the family,” said Benjamin.

Khwinanas's sister Thandeka Khwinana died last year due to what the family described as “stress”.

“We didn't only lose Sbu, we also lost his sister and we are scared we will lose our mother. She is struggling and we are trying to get her counselling,” he said.

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