A man who fled his home country Eswatini to South Africa after allegedly killing someone has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering another person in a graveyard in Mpumalanga, eastern South Africa reports News24.
The 33 year-old man July Hezekiel Ndwandwa, was sentenced last week at a Regional Court in South Africa for the 2019 murder of Khulile Mahumane, 29.
A police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said the police and paramedics received information on 20 May 2019 about a woman’s body that had been found at a graveyard.
“On further examination, the police discovered that the victim had two gunshot wounds – one on the chest and the other on the right hand.”
Mohlala said the victim was identified as Khulile Mahumane.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Ndwandwa was the last person seen with Mahumane.
Mohlala said:
The accused was apprehended, and he later admitted to having committed the murder.
“During the investigation, police discovered that the accused had allegedly committed murder in the Kingdom of Eswatini, and there was a warrant for his arrest from the said neighbouring country with regard to the murder case.
“Though details of the murder remain with the police across the border, the accused was sentenced by the court to life imprisonment for the murder of Mahumane. He was further declared unfit to possess a firearm.”
A police commissioner in the area, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, welcomed the sentence imposed on Ndwandwa and thanked the investigation team, the prosecution team, and the judiciary “for their hard work”.
She hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrence to those who may think that when they commit crime in secret places, they won’t be caught.
