Ntabankulu – Seven suspects were sentenced by the Eastern Cape High Court, sitting in Ntabankulu, to life imprisonment for the murder of two women they accused of witchcraft in the Eastern Cape.
The accused are 29-year-old Lwandiso Mzaza, 28-year-old Lufefe Mzaza, 34-year-old Zithini Rhayisa, 31-year-old Yamkela Nonjojo, 34-year-old Odwa Nonjojo, 32-year-old Anelisiwe Nonjojo and 24-year-old Mkhonzeni Ngcabangcosi.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in the Eastern Cape division, Luxolo Tyali, said the court found the accused guilty of two counts of murder and arson for which they were sentenced to two life terms and 10 years, ordered by the court to run concurrently.
The court heard that the Mzaza and Nonjojo accused are brothers.
All the convicted persons are from the Ngonyama Administrative Area in the district of EmaXesibeni (formerly Mount Ayliff), where the crimes were committed.
Evidence led in court revealed that on 12 December 2018, the accused had two meetings that were chaired by the older Mzaza brother, Lwandiso, where it was decided that the women they accused of practicing witchcraft had to be killed by burning.
The accused clubbed money and bought petrol they intended to use to burn the “witches”, their houses, and their families.
The court heard that on the night of 12 December 2024, Nothethisa Ntshamba was at her home with her husband, three children, and her sister Ntombekhaya Ndlanya who was visiting.
Later, when Nothethisa was escorting her sister home, the women were accosted by the accused.
The two women were assaulted, pelted with stones, and poured with petrol before they were set alight by the accused.
The group then proceeded to burn the Ntshamba homestead to ashes.
NPA spokesperson Tyali said during the trial, all the accused pleaded not guilty and put into question their identity as they claimed it was at night.
Accused Zithini Rhayisa, who had earlier confessed to the crimes to the police, attempted to distance herself in court, necessitating a trial-within-a-trial.
However, the court found the confession admissible.
The State also relied on evidence from witnesses, some being the children of the deceased, to secure the conviction.
Senior state Advocate Mbulelo Nyendwa submitted to the court that violence against women accused of unfounded claims of practicing witchcraft was very prevalent not only in the Eastern Cape but in the country at large.
He added that the children of the deceased had not only lost their mothers but had been displaced, fearing for their lives and still carrying the stigma of being called the children of witches by some members of the community.
Judge Nozuko Mjali agreed and noted that no self-respecting state could condone what the accused did.
Judge Mjali said the accused deserved to be severely punished, as a society must be protected from people who do not respect the law.
“This court alone has lost count of cases of this nature in this Ntabankulu circuit alone,” the judge said.
