Broken elevators were the reason why the sentencing of Thabo Ntokozo Theodore Nzimande (33) was on Wednesday (September 23) postponed to Friday (September 25) at the Durban High Court.

In July, Nzimande was found guilty of his grandmother, Beata Beatrice de Lange’s (80), murder in Pinetown in 2024.

It is reported that due to safety concerns, inmates attending trial cannot be escorted via the stairs, and because technicians could not give an exact indication as to when the lifts would be repaired, the sentencing proceedings were set back for Friday.

On Monday (September 21), the court heard sentencing arguments from the defence and the State, with the former arguing for a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years, with half of whatever is eventually imposed converted to correctional supervision.

The State had argued for the court to consider handing down a sentence no less than 20 years.

Nzimande’s legal representative, Emmanuel Chiliza, had told the presiding officer, Acting Judge Mpumelelo Sibisi, that in a report compiled by Correctional Services, it has been indicated that a relative of the convicted has stated that they are willing to assist should the court consider correctional supervision.

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Advocate Nadira Moosa for the State argued that the report deals with whether Nzimande can be monitored if the court decides on a sentence of correctional supervision and does not make any recommendations.

Moosa’s submission to the court was that although correctional supervision may be imposed on Nzimande, such a sentence is not ordinarily handed down.

The advocate added that the aggravating circumstances far outweigh the mitigating ones and that the defence had not placed before the court any substantial and compelling circumstances to warrant a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence.

Moosa urged the court to consider the brutality of the murder when making a ruling on the sentence.

De Lange was murdered in a granny flat she shared with Nzimande, which is located on the Pinetown property of her son-in-law. She was stabbed multiple times and her head decapitated.

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