Jabulani Fransisco Mazibuko (43) has been detained since September 2015.

He was sentenced in the North Gauteng Division High Court, seated at Breyten Circuit.

According to Sgt Peace Mbokane, police spokesman for Elukwatini Police Station, the accused first came up against the law on September 7, 2015.

“Mazibuko, who was 40 years  old then, shot and killed three  males – namely Jabulani Nkosi, Themba Nkosi and David Mkhaliphi – following a heated argument at Embhuleni tribal authority offices. The trio had visited the offices to deliver a petition seeking to oppose Mazibuko’s inauguration as a potential induna (chief headman).

“Little did they know that Mazibuko was livid and singing a different hymn over the matter,” he said.

Mbokane said the argument went pear-shaped, resulting in Mazibuko shooting and killing the three and thereafter handing himself over to the police.

“The case was assigned to Det Sgt Muzi Lusenga, who threw his soul and breath to it, knitting the pieces of evidence together and diligently working on the matter. Mazibuko first appeared in court on September 9, 2015. He tried his luck on bail on October 1, 2015, but it was turned down,” said Mazibuko.

In a court filled to capacity last Monday, the presiding official remarked that nothing in this life is and will ever be as gravely serious as intentionally taking the life of another person.

Mazibuko further stated that society does not expect a slap on the wrist, but severe and proper punishment for perpetrators of such offences.

He said as the judge addressed the accused, it became crystal clear to the court that all odds were getting stacked against the accused.

“The judge informed the accused that a number of people were left desolated when he selfishly ended the lives of their breadwinners. She further appreciated the detective’s dedication to the case from scratch and voiced out that such commitment lightens the judiciary’s task. She then meted the hefty sentence to Mazibuko,”  said Mbokane.

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The sentence pleased the affected families in attendance.

When the court adjourned, they sang outside the court in ululations, showing off their printed T-shirts bearing the names of the murdered trio and declared that they had finally found solace.

The Elukwatini station commander, Col Mfundisi Patrick Makamu, congratulated the investigating official for his milestone achievement.

“I am pleased by this member who ensured that an offender who makes his  ed, gets the time to sleep in it. I hope other would-be offenders will realise that it is not guns that kill people, but negligent people with guns that seek to extinct mankind. And against such, the law will deal accordingly,”
he said.