88-year sentence for men who killed 92-year-old woman suspected of witchcraft

The four men who killed an elderly woman suspected of practicing witchcraft have been sentenced to a collective 88 years behind bars.

Manundu Mzubongile, Mlungisi Manundu, Siyabulela Manundu, and Sithembiso Yalwa killed the 92-year-old Nosayinethi Manundu in 2020.

The men believed Manundu was a witch and responsible for the fatal stabbing of Samkelo Manundu, whose funeral was held in Cape Town on 14 March 2020.

The following day they stripped her naked, locked her in her rondavel, and attempted to set the building alight; but Manundu managed to escape.

According to Captain Ursula Roelofse, however, the men captured and assaulted her again, “and drowned her in a drum full of water” close to her home.

They also torched her house before fleeing Cape Town. The suspects were arrested two days later and sentenced on 18 August 2022.

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The men pleaded not guilty at the Sterkspruit High Court. Judge Jolwana sentenced them to 20 years each for murder and two years each for imputing witchcraft.

The 2020 assault was recorded and video clips of the murder were later shared on social media. These clips were entered as evidence in the court proceedings.

As reported by TimesLive, Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali three of the accused were related to the 92-year-old woman.

The fourth accused, Yalwa, was her neighbour. Tyali added: “Some community members cheered the killers on and never bothered to intervene to save the victim”.

“The judge also regarded the men’s subjective belief in witchcraft as a mitigating factor compelling a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Roelofse said the acting District Commissioner, Brigadier Asogran Naidoo, commended the meticulous and professional investigation by the investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Monica Dinga.

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