Siyanda Khumalo, 36, was sentenced to two life terms in prison in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the murder of two children of his ex-girlfriend at Gamalakhe near Port Shepstone in March 2022.
Khumalo pleaded guilty to charges of murder and arson. In his plea explanation, Khumalo said he wanted to cause his former girlfriend Vamisile Zenda as much pain as possible because she obtained a protection order against him after their relationship soured.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says, “At some stage their relationship became bitter and Zenda got a protection order against him. In his plea, Khumalo said that this angered him and he decided to hurt her by causing as much pain as possible.”
“On the day of the event, Khumalo went to Zenda’s house to seek revenge, but he found the boys there alone. He used a bush knife to strike the older child on the back of his head. The younger child was asleep in bed, so Khumalo set the house alight and fled the scene,” says Ramkisson-Kara.
