Khoza, who was attached to Masoyi police station, shot and
killed his wife, 35-year-old Nomthandazo Mnisi last year. He also shot her
32-year-old sister, Colisile Mnisi, and her 42-year-old brother, Dennis
Mkhantshwa, in Hazyview on 30 April 2023.
Khoza shot the siblings in cold blood during a family
meeting seeking to resolve his marital issues with his wife.
The judgement was handed down on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, by
Judge Takalani Vincent Ratshibvumo, who also declared Khoza medically unfit to
possess a fireman.
Judge Ratshibvumo imposed the sentence against Khoza “to
send a message to the community of Masoye”
"I checked to see if there is any substantial and
compelling reason that justifies deviation from the prescribed sentence of life
imprisonment,” said Judge Ratshibvumo.
“The more I zoomed into these traditional mitigating
factors, instead of me finding anything substantial and compelling to justify
the imposition of anything less, unfortunately, I find even more aggravating
factors.
“In fact, deviation from the prescribed sentences will send
a wrong message to the community. The community of Masoye and people of
Mpumalanga have to know that the courts are not going to tolerate gender-based
violence
“The message has to go out to the streets of Mbombela that
anyone who violates women will be dealt with by the courts mercilessly
“For the simple reason that you have one life, the
legislature also provides that any sentence that is imposed together with life
imprisonment shall run concurrently with life imprisonment. As a result, the
sentences in count number 2 and 3 shall run concurrently with sentences in
count 1," said the Judge.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in
Mpumalanga, Khoza had last week, 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.
“The accused in the matter (Khoza) pleaded guilty on three
counts of murder and the matter was postponed to June 10, 2024 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 Tuesday.
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 incident,
Khoza and Nomthandazo were having challenges in their marriage.
The police officer also invited his relatives to the 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 two
deceased (Xolisile Mnisi and Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa) and his wife
(Nomthandazo). The three deceased died at the scene of the crime,” the court
papers detail.
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.
At the time, acting national spokesperson for the
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Robbie Raburabu said the
police officer 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 and 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.
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