Former social worker who shot six family members over witchcraft claims gets life sentence

Victims were ordered into a room where killer opened fire

10 December 2024 - 16:25 By MFUNDO MKHIZE
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Sthembiso Mthimkhulu, 39, stormed the Khumalo homestead in the eNkanini area on the outskirts of Eshowe and killed six people.
Sthembiso Mthimkhulu, 39, stormed the Khumalo homestead in the eNkanini area on the outskirts of Eshowe and killed six people.
Image: Mfundo Mkhize

A former social worker who killed six of his family members after accusing them of bewitching his uncle was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday.

Sthembiso Mthimkhulu, 39, stormed the Khumalo homestead in rural eNkanini on the outskirts of Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, in February 2021.

There he ordered Octavia, 65, and Christopher Khumalo, 77, their 37-year-old daughter Mbali Khumalo and her son Thabo Khumalo, 10, as well as relatives 17-year-old Nothile Sphelele Khumalo and eight-year-old Langalihle Sigampu into a room and opened fire on them.

Police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker said Mthimkhulu used an axe found later inside to force open the door.

“The suspect was armed with a pistol, which he used to kill six members of the family, aged eight to 77,” said Naicker. Mthimkhulu fled afterwards. Police tracked him to Greytown where he was charged with six counts of murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A girl, Nosipho, who was nine at the time, survived the massacre by hiding behind a curtain during Mthimkhulu's killing spree.

Pietermaritzburg high court judge Kate Pillay found Mthimkhulu was not remorseful despite overwhelming evidence against him.

“He [Mthimkhulu] was in a better position to rationalise his actions. Instead he is blaming others for his woes,” said Pillay. “Sentencing looks at the balancing factors of interest of society and personal details of Mthimkhulu.”

In mitigation of sentence, Mthimkhulu’s legal representative advocate Siseko Madikizela told the court his client was a father of four. Three of his children lived with him before his arrest, while one lived with their mother. All his children are now in the custody of their mothers.

“Mthimkhulu has callously disregarded the lives of humans,” said Pillay.

She found the murders to have been premeditated and said it was fortuitous the massacre coincided with the absence of Nosipho's mother Thando Sigampu, 31, the couple's granddaughter, who was in hospital to give birth.

Pillay said a victim impact statement by Sigampu and Nosipho painted a grim picture of their lives after the killing.

Sigampu said her grandparents were everything to her and the killings had left a deep void in her life.

Thando's grandparents saw to every need she had. Nosipho is no longer a happy child who also had ambitions of one day becoming a doctor
Judge Kate Pillay

“Thando's grandparents saw to every need she had. Nosipho is no longer a happy child who also had ambitions of one day becoming a doctor,” said Pillay.

The family has also been uprooted with Nosipho changing schools and the pair being under witness protection. They live in constant fear.

“The loss to this family is profound. Nosipho’s life has been irrevocably altered. The killing of the elderly and the youth is abhorrent. The court can not deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence,” said Pillay.

According to the indictment, Mthimkhulu suspected Khumalo — his uncle — practised witchcraft on another relative and caused his death. This led to the murder.

It was largely Nosipho's “extremely credible” testimony which led to Mthimkhulu's conviction on October 26.

Only Mthimkhulu’s family members were in court while the victims' family could not attend court due to a logistical challenge. A tearful Sigampu told TimesLIVE telephonically that while they welcomed the sentence, they were still trying to come to terms with the loss.

“I have mixed reactions. I am still saddened by the loss we have had to go through but equally I am happy,” she said.

They were shocked by Mthimkhulu's actions as he had never shown signs of harbouring bad blood before, said Sigampu.

“We have differences but I personally never considered Mthimkhulu to be capable of doing this. We don’t know, maybe he was influenced by his family.”

The acrimony between the two families had also been laid bare as Mthimkhulu’s family snubbed the funerals, she said.

“His family has never reached out to us, even just as a way of

TimesLIVE


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