Cop awaits fate over triple killing
A 39-YEAR-old police constable, Sizwe Cedric Khoza, attached to Masoyi police station in Mpumalanga, returned to court yesterday to be sentenced for the murder of his wife, her sister and her brother.
Khoza shot the siblings in cold blood during a family meeting seeking to resolve his marital issues with his wife Nomthandazo Mnisi.
Last week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga said Khoza had pleaded guilty in the High Court in Mbombela to three counts of murder, after he shot the two sisters who were working as nurses, and their brother Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa.
Nomthandazo's sister was identified as Xolisile Mnisi.
“The accused (Khoza) pleaded guilty on three counts of murder and the matter was postponed to June 10 for sentencing proceedings,” Mpumalanga NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said last week.
Khoza returned to court on Monday, where the case was rolled over to yesterday.
During the appearance on Monday, Nyuswa said, the State and the defence presented arguments in aggravation and mitigation of Khoza's sentence.
Court papers revealed that prior to the shooting, Khoza and Nomthandazo were having challenges in their marriage.
The police officer invited his relatives to a meeting which was held at his residence on April 30 last year.
The meeting degenerated, and according to court papers, Khoza became angry and stormed out of the meeting.
“He came back armed. He cocked the firearm and shot the three – Xolisile Mnisi, Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa and his wife, Nomthandazo.
“The three deceased died at the scene of the crime,” the court papers detail.
The injuries suffered by the three family members are also detailed in the court papers, including gunshot
wounds to their heads, multiple perforating gunshot wounds to the chest, with lung and liver injuries.
After Khoza's conviction, Nyuswa on behalf of the NPA in Mpumalanga, told IOL that the State will ask the court to impose “a severe sentence” on Khoza.
Last year, the brutal murder of the two sisters and their brother made
national headlines. At the time, acting national spokesperson for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Robbie Raburabu, said that the police officer had allegedly used his service pistol to slaughter the siblings.
“The family were meeting, following a dispute between the suspect constable and his wife.
“When things did not go the suspect's way, he decided to go fetch his service pistol.
“He then fatally shot the three family members, including his wife,” said Raburabu.
Ipid investigators were summoned to the crime scene at Kamajika Trust near Sabie Sand in Mpumalanga province.