Seven people are each facing two life terms for pooling money to buy petrol and burning to death two women they believed were witches.
Two brothers, Lwandiso Mzaza, 29, and Lufefe Mzaza, 28, siblings Yamkela Nonjojo, 31, Odwa Nonjojo, 34 and Anelisiwe Nonjojo, 32, and Zithini Rhayisa, 34, and Mkhonzeni Ngcabangcosi, 24, were sentenced by the Mthatha high court in the Eastern Cape on Friday.
They were convicted on two counts of murder and arson each for burning two women to death.
In December 2018, the group held two meetings chaired by Lwandiso to decide how to burn and kill women they believed were practising witchcraft.
They clubbed money together and bought petrol after conspiring to burn the alleged witches, their families and their homes, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
One night, an unsuspecting Nothethisa Ntshamba was at home with her husband, three children and her sister Ntombekhaya Ndlanya, unaware of a plot to kill her.
When Ntshamba left the house to walk her sister home, they were accosted by the group who assaulted them, pelted them with stones and doused them with petrol before setting them alight.
They then proceeded to burn Ntshamba’s home to ashes, said Tyali.
Seven get hefty sentences for burning sisters to death for 'witchcraft'
Image: 123RF/EVGENYI LASTOCHKIN
Seven people are each facing two life terms for pooling money to buy petrol and burning to death two women they believed were witches.
Two brothers, Lwandiso Mzaza, 29, and Lufefe Mzaza, 28, siblings Yamkela Nonjojo, 31, Odwa Nonjojo, 34 and Anelisiwe Nonjojo, 32, and Zithini Rhayisa, 34, and Mkhonzeni Ngcabangcosi, 24, were sentenced by the Mthatha high court in the Eastern Cape on Friday.
They were convicted on two counts of murder and arson each for burning two women to death.
In December 2018, the group held two meetings chaired by Lwandiso to decide how to burn and kill women they believed were practising witchcraft.
They clubbed money together and bought petrol after conspiring to burn the alleged witches, their families and their homes, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
One night, an unsuspecting Nothethisa Ntshamba was at home with her husband, three children and her sister Ntombekhaya Ndlanya, unaware of a plot to kill her.
When Ntshamba left the house to walk her sister home, they were accosted by the group who assaulted them, pelted them with stones and doused them with petrol before setting them alight.
They then proceeded to burn Ntshamba’s home to ashes, said Tyali.
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The were arrested and pleaded not guilty, stating that their identity could not be confirmed as the incident happened at night. But one of the accused, Rhayisa, had confessed to the police but tried to retract her confession during the trial.
“This necessitated a trial-within-a-trial. The court found the confession admissible. The state further led the evidence of the eyewitnesses, some being the children of the deceased,” said Tyali.
Senior state advocate Mbulelo Nyendwa argued that violence against women accused of unfounded claims of practising witchcraft was prevalent, not only in the Eastern Cape but other parts of the country.
The children of the deceased not only lost their mothers but had been displaced and feared for their lives while living with the stigma of being called children of witches by residents, Nyendwa said.
Judge Nozuko Mjali stated that no self-respecting country would condone the actions of the accused and they deserved a harsh punishment to protect society from those who do not respect the law.
The group were each sentenced to two life terms for the two murders and another ten years for arson. The sentences will run concurrently.
“This court alone has lost count of cases of this nature in this Ntabankulu circuit alone,” said Mjali.
TimesLIVE
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