BREYTEN - The Provincial Commissioner for Mpumalanga SAPS, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, applauded the relentless work of the investigating team, the judiciary, as well as the NPA and the cooperation of the witnesses, in ensuring that yet another pair of rotten potatoes, who do not deserve to live among us, is sent to prison indefinitely.

On April 29, during a Tswane North High Court sitting in Breyten, Bheki Arnot Makhanya (25) and Bhuti Solomon Mageba Nkosi (32), were sentenced to multiple life terms for the murder of three men who were found hanged in Nhlazatshe, Ext 6, near Badplaas on September 28, 2016.

Their sentencing stems from an incident wherein the accused, who were 23 and 30 respectively at the time, murdered Jacky Mandla Maziya (38), Sfiso Mmemo Nkosi (25) and Elvis Mfanafuthi Mavimbela (25). The court heard how the pair tied barbed wire around the victims’ necks and hands before hanging them from the rafters. They also tortured the victims by burning them with a hot iron while they were hanging and pleading for their lives.

The court also heard that motive for these gruesome murders was apparently an effort to eliminate competition in the illegal drug trade in the area.

The bodies of the deceased were found with multiple burn wounds, and they had all been gagged in an effort to mute their cries for help.

The accused first appeared in the Eerstehoek Magistrate's Court on October 18, 2016, and have been in and out of court up to their conviction. They were sentenced as follows: Accused number 1, Bheki Arnot Makhanya, was sentenced to one life term, while accused number 2, Bhuti Solomon Mageba Nkosi received three life terms. The presiding judge stressed the seriousness of infringing on the most fundamental right of all, the right to life. He added that no amount of remorse could ever bring back the victims. He also emphasised the importance of sending a strong message to other would-be offenders on how gruesome cases, like this one, are viewed by the courts.

"It is through the relentless efforts by law enforcers, and positive outcomes like this one, that trust in the country's judicial system is restored, and the authority of the state asserted," Zuma concluded.

Editor: Anchen Coetzee
Subeditor: Lynette Brink
Submitted by: Brig Leonard Hlathi
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