Read more
A 29-year-old KZN man received life imprisonment for killing his grandmother and setting her body on fire after an argument.
Picture: iStock
A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) man was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his 72-year-old grandmother and violating her corpse by setting her body on fire.
The Greytown Regional Court sentenced 29-year-old Ayanda Fulela to life for his grandmother’s murder and an additional ten years for violating her corpse. The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Constable Siyabonga Nkwanyana said the South African Police Service (Saps) in Kranskop secured a significant conviction as a result of the thorough investigative work of Kranskop detectives.
“Their diligent work ensured that all necessary evidence was effectively presented before the judiciary, leading to the successful prosecution of Ayanda Fulela, who was sentenced for the murder of his 72-year-old grandmother in Nseleni, under the Kranskop policing precinct in December 2024,” Nkwanyana said.
After the elderly woman went missing for two days, a missing person’s case was registered on 2 January 2025. Kranskop detectives, under the command of Detective Sergeant Thobelani Khoza, moved quickly to begin an investigation, according to Nkwanyana.
“Their enquiries led them to the home of the complainant, where evidence pointed to the deceased’s grandson, Ayanda Fulela, as a suspect,” Nkwanyana said.
ALSO READ: Vicki Terblanche murder: Reinhardt Leach sentenced
“Upon further questioning, Fulela confessed to having stabbed his grandmother following a heated argument. In an attempt to conceal the crime, he then set her body on fire.”
The Greytown Regional Court found Ayanda Fulela guilty of murder and violating a corpse on 4 March.
Meanwhile, this week, the Bhisho Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa sentenced 29-year-old Qhamani Katana Nqayi to an effective 30-year imprisonment term for the murder of his grandparents to feed his drug addiction.
Nqayi entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the state and was sentenced to life imprisonment, 25 years imprisonment for each of the two counts of murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three years for housebreaking with intent to rob.
The court ordered some of the sentences to run concurrently.
Download our app