The Mpumalanga High Court in South Africa has sentenced 39-year-old police officer Sizwe Cedric Khoza to three life sentences for the murders of his wife and her siblings.
Khoza, who worked at the Masoyi police station, shot and killed his 35-year-old wife, Nomthandazo Mnisi, last year. On April 30, 2023, he also shot her 32-year-old sister, Colisile Mnisi, and her 42-year-old brother, Dennis Mkhantshwa, in Hazyview.
Khoza committed the murders in cold blood during a family meeting intended to resolve marital issues with his wife.
The judgment was handed down on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, by Judge Takalani Vincent Ratshibvumo, who also declared Khoza medically unfit to possess a firearm.
Judge Ratshibvumo imposed the sentence on Khoza “to send a message to the community of Masoyi.”
“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 finding anything substantial and compelling to justify a lesser sentence, I found even more aggravating factors.
“Deviation from the prescribed sentences would send the wrong message to the community. The community of Masoyi and the people of Mpumalanga need to know that the courts will not tolerate gender-based violence.
“The message must be clear in the streets of Mbombela that anyone who violates women will be dealt with mercilessly by the courts.
“Because you have one life, the legislature provides that any sentence imposed alongside life imprisonment shall run concurrently. Therefore, the sentences for counts 2 and 3 will run concurrently with the sentence for count 1,” said Judge Ratshibvumo.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga, Khoza pleaded guilty in the High Court in Mbombela last week to three counts of murder after he shot the two sisters, who were nurses, and their brother, Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa.
“The accused (Khoza) pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, and the matter was postponed to June 10, 2024, for sentencing proceedings,” said Mpumalanga NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa last week.
Khoza returned to court on Monday, and the case was rolled over to Tuesday.
During Monday’s court appearance, Nyuswa stated that both the State and the defense presented arguments regarding the aggravation and mitigation of Khoza’s sentence.
Court documents revealed that prior to the shooting incident, Khoza and Nomthandazo were experiencing marital challenges.
Khoza had also invited his relatives to a meeting held at his residence on April 30 of the previous year.
The meeting deteriorated, and according to court documents, Khoza became enraged and stormed out.
“He returned armed. He cocked the firearm and shot the two deceased (Xolisile Mnisi and Dennis Collen Mkhatshwa) and his wife (Nomthandazo). The three victims died at the scene,” the court documents detail. The injuries suffered by the three family members included gunshot wounds to their heads and multiple perforating gunshot wounds to the chest, causing lung and liver injuries.
After Khoza’s conviction, Nyuswa, on behalf of the NPA in Mpumalanga, told IOL that the State would 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 kill the siblings.
“The family was meeting following a dispute between the suspect constable and his wife. When things did not go the suspect’s way, he fetched 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.
