A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to three life jail terms for gunning down three members of one family outside Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape.
The incident happened when Mandisi Makhanda broke into the family’s spaza shop.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, says Makhanda had escaped from a North West correctional facility in 2018.
Tyali says Makhanda had been serving a life sentence for murder before this incident.
“Makhanda was convicted of killing three members of Nomqonde family in Ngqeleni in 2018 when he robbed their spaza shop at gunpoint. The court upheld the view of the prosecution that Makhanda deserves to be taken from society for the longest of time because he cannot be rehabilitated. This was informed by that Makhanda was a fugitive from the law after escaping from a correctional facility in (the) North West where he was serving a murder sentence of life when he committed this offence.”
Escalating murder rates in SA
South Africa’s murder rate continues to rise.
Crime figures released in February this year showed the murder rate climbed by just under 9% between October and December, 2021.
More details in the report below:
-Report by Nomzwanele Mngoma
