Heavier sentences for murders

Update

KAROO NEWS - Nomphelo Maloyi and Lwazi Kay, who were arrested for the murder of the 66-year-old Mynhardt Maloyi in November 2022, are due to appear in the Makhanda High Court - sitting in Graaff-Reinet - on Monday 8 July for closing arguments.

It is alleged that mastermind Maloyi approached Kay to kill her uncle, Mynhardt Maloyi, because she wanted the payouts of insurance policies – one from FNB for R150 000 and one from Sanlam for R15 000 - that she has taken out on his life.

Kay agreed to do this after Nomphelo promised to pay him R20 000 as soon as she received the payouts. The duo appeared in the Regional Court in Graaff-Reinet for the first time on 12 December 2022 and both were denied bail.

Their subsequent bail applications were also denied, and they remained in custody. After several postponements, the case was eventually referred to the High Court in Makhanda on 9 January 2024 after the District Public Prosecutor determined that the information contained in the investigation report is of such serious nature that it can no longer be heard in the Regional Court.

Similar case

In another case of a similar nature, the Makhanda High Court - sitting in Nxuba - sentenced Zizipho Pani (34), her husband Siyathemba James (39), her relative Sinethemba Pani (34), as well as Sizwesethu Jonas (34), to life imprisonment plus 15 years for their roles in the rape and attempted murder of a woman and the murder of her boyfriend.

Their accomplice, Masixole Sokoyi (19), who was a minor during the commission of the offences, was sentenced to an effective 25-year imprisonment for the attempted murder and rape of the woman and the murder of her boyfriend.

Victim was an employee

According to Luxolo Tyali, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, the couple - Zizipho Pani and Siyathemba James - employed the victim before the commission of the offences. The mastermind behind the murder, Zizipho Pani, took out insurance policies on the life of the victim with Standard Bank and Absa Bank in 2021. These policies would pay out R200 000 upon the victim's death. Zizipho Pani then solicited the services of the three men - Sinethemba Pani, Sizwesethu Jonas, and Masixole Sokoyi - to kill the victim in exchange for payment of R50 000.

On the night of 10 October 2022, the three accomplices, who executed the attack went to the home of the victim's boyfriend where she was staying and were permitted to enter when they knocked, as they were known to both of their targets. They then stabbed the couple with pangas and knives. Sokoyi raped the bleeding victim, and they left them, believing that both were dead.

However, according to Tyali, the woman was still alive and managed to crawl to the neighbours who immediately summoned an ambulance. At the arrival of the ambulance, her boyfriend was declared dead on the scene, but she was taken to hospital.

After the attack, Zizipho Pani and her husband took the attackers to a residence in the neighbouring town of Cookhouse where they were eventually rounded up by community members and had to be rescued by the police, who subsequently arrested them. One of the accomplices, who turned state witness in terms of Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act, confessed to the crimes and implicated the married couple. During the trial only one of the accused pleaded not guilty and this necessitated State Advocate Sibusiso Mgenge to lead the evidence of the victim, who then had to relive her ordeal in court. Despite the fact that she was able to identify her attackers, the defence attempted to put the identities of the attackers in dispute, portraying the victim as a drunkard and drug addict.

Legislation needed for insurance murders

Imposing the sentences, Judge Nozuko Mviko agreed with Advocate Mgenge's submission that insurance payout murders are becoming out of control, not only in the Eastern Cape but across the country. She noted that the courts have a duty to impose sentences that would deter other potential perpetrators until legislation preventing people from taking insurance covers against others without their express consent is enacted. Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions Barry Madolo commended the prosecutor and the investigating officer on the conclusion of the case. "It can never be over-emphasised how important human life is and therefore we will be vigorous in our pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers".

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