KWANELE Khumalo (31) was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Durban High Court recently for the house robbery and murder of Rishinund Maharaj, a Westville Prison warden.

Maharaj was killed at his home in Westville on September 12, 2024.

Khumalo was convicted following several court appearances. At the time of committing the crime, he was out on bail for a separate house robbery that had taken place in Malvern in 2022.

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He was arrested a day after the murder at his home in Lamontville and found with an unlicensed firearm.

Sergeant Sibongiseni Ngcobo, who handled the case, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

Ngcobo, who joined the police service in 2006, said he has always been driven by a passion for helping the community. Over the years, he said he has also taken on a mentorship role for younger officers.

He has been stationed at Westville SAPS for the past 20 years, starting in crime prevention before moving to the charge office and later joining the detective unit in 2009.

Reflecting on the sentencing, Ngcobo described it as “bittersweet”.

“Although justice has been served, it cannot bring back the person. Maharaj was a family man who had less than a year before retirement,” he said.

“Just imagine working hard your whole life, only for it to be taken away in a senseless killing. They could have taken the items and left.”

Ngcobo added that Khumalo’s co-accused, Ntobeko Lushozi, is serving an 18-year sentence after pleading guilty in November. Lushozi was nabbed while committing a house robbery in Sarnia.

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