Teen jailed for life for murder of KZN teacher

Young thugs carefully chose a defenceless teacher to kidnap, rob, stab repeatedly and abandon her body at a roadside, the Pietermaritzburg High Court found today when jailing a teenager for life.

Acting Judge Jerome Mnguni also imposed five years' jail on Mhlekiseni Hlela (19), for the kidnap, two terms of 15 years for the aggravated robberies of the woman's car and a colleague's cellphone. These sentences run concurrently with the life term. In January 2006, Hlela and a 17-year-old companion went to the home of teacher Thoko Xaba near Pomeroy, between Greytown and Dundee. They demanded the keys to her car, forced her into it and drove for about 20km. They stabbed her repeatedly then threw her body out of the car.

Her injuries indicated that she was sitting in the front passenger seat and was stabbed from behind. State prosecutor Adele Janse van Vuuren said Xaba must have suffered great physical pain and anguish during the attack. Police later found Xaba's bloodstained car at the home of relatives of the accused near Newcastle.

The 17-year-old indicated that he would plead guilty and his trial was separated from that of Hlela. On the night that they abducted Xaba, one of her colleagues confronted the assailants. He was robbed of his cellphone. Hlela was sentenced to 15 years for this robbery. Mnguni turned down an application for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence. - Sapa