CONVICTED murderer and rapist, Njabulo Ndlovu, was sentenced to five life sentences for killing three generations of the Ndlela family.
The 29-year-old was arrested last month after gogo Zanele Ndlela (65), her daughter Simangele Ndlela (46) and her granddaughter Zenande (8), were found murdered at their home at Sobantu kasi in Pietermaritzburg, KZN midlands.
Ndlovu appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday, 21 July where he was given life sentence for each of the three murder he faced and two counts of rape.
During the handing of the sentencing, the relatives of the dead and some residents of Sobantu, who were in court, couldn’t hold their back tears as Judge Poyo Dlwati recap on how Ndlovu murdered and rapes little Zenande.
Handing down sentencing, Dlwati said Ndlovu had no empathy or mercy when he committed the atrocious acts.
“Why did you rape Zenande? Why did you kill three defenceless women from the same family? These are the questions that were not answered during the trial. We believe that if the person is remorseful, he must give all the information and tell all the truth, not lie because the deceased can’t answer,” said Dlwati.
She said the family had started saving for Zenande’s education because they wanted her to have a good education.
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“They wanted her to have the best education but you crashed all that when you killed her. I also don’t understand why you would kill gogo Zanele because you could have overpowered her and pushed her down and left but you didn’t,” she said.
Dlwati then handed down the sentencing and emphasised that Ndlovu will only be entitled to apply for parole after 25 years.
Zanele’s sister, Thandeka Ndlela, said they have mixed emotions about the outcome of the sentencing.
She said they are happy that he will rot in jail but at the back of their mind they have that feeling that as much as the sentencing equals the brutal, it will never bring their loved ones back.
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“We are happy that justice has prevailed but we are worried because he’s still entitled to apply for parole after 25 years. We are also worried that Ndlovu’s father who lives in Sudan and is filthy rich will use his connection to take his son out of jail. We will be happy if he will be monitored all the time if he’s still in jail or what?” said Thandeka.
Another relative, Xolani Ndlela, said Ndlovu left them with a wound that will never heal.
“The detailing of how he did everything really left us traumatised. We appeal to women, especially those who stay alone to be very careful of who they open their doors to. They must be very vigilant,” said Xolani.
