A REGIONAL prosecutor told the court that the community of Margate had been subjected to a reign of terror.
And it was that reign that stole the life of a promising and talented grade 11 pupil in September last year.
Sipho Helman Danca (24) pleaded guilty to the charge of murder and two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances in the Port Shepstone Regional Court on Monday this week. He has already spent a year in custody.
Prosecutor Sharmilla Chinnasamy said the murdered teenager Ngcebo Mark Madiya (18) would have written his final matric exams this week.
Magistrate Nonesi Dlamini handed Danca a 10-year sentence for both counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced him to 20-years for the murder. The sentences will run concurrently.
Regina Ntombizonke Madiya, the mother of Ngcebo, who was stabbed to death while walking in the Margate CBD wept quietly during the court proceedings.
The court heard that Mrs Madiya was walking with her two children when she noticed two suspicious looking men walking on the other side of the road.
To avoid her children seeing one of the men urinating, Mrs Madiya made her children cross the road. It was then that Danca snatched a bag from Ngcebo.
In an attempt to retrieve the bag, Ngcebo ran after Danca.
Danca admitted in his plea to stabbing Ngcebo who died on the roadside from a stab wound to the chest.
Less than a hour prior to this incident, Danca together with other men attacked, robbed and stabbed a pedestrian, Alex Siyabonga Khosi, along Uplands Road in Margate. Margate SAPS officers arrested Danca and recovered the murder weapon and the stolen bag.
Danca’s attorney said his client was an orphan and from a young age was influenced by others. He said Danca, who was a first time offender, had been under the influence of alcohol and committed the offences on the spur of the moment.
In closing the state’s case, the prosecutor said Danca found he had a steep mountain to climb and saw that he was going nowhere, as there was overwhelming evidence against him.
She said deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis of the okapi knife showed that the deceased’s DNA matched the DNA sample.
Mrs Chinnasamy said Mrs Madiya had to testify without any counselling and recall her agonising ordeal of having her child die in her arms.
She said the accused showed no remorse and neither had he apologised to he bereaved mother.
Magistrate Dlamini said justice would not have been served if it was not for Margate police officers’ immediate response.
“Crime is a horrific indictment of our democractic society, which everyone fought for, as no one can walk freely on the streets without being disturbed by people like the accused,” she said.
Magistrate Dlamini added that although Danca was a first time offender he had blood on his hands.
Mrs Madiya who is struggling to come to terms with her son’s death said she was happy the ordeal was over.
“Justice has been done, but nothing will bring back my son,” she said.
