Middelburg Regional Court sentences nephew to 22 years for murder, attempted murder
Victim impact statements read in court revealed that Skhosana turned violent when drunk.
Sandile Skhosana (27) heard his fate this morning when he was sentenced by the Middelburg Regional Court to 15 years imprisonment for the 2020 murder of his uncle, Themba Maisela, and another seven years for the attempted murder of his other uncle, Petros Maisela.
He was convicted following a shooting that occurred in the Skhosana homestead in August 2020, where a brawl over a balaclava broke out, which ended with Skhosana assaulting his sister and his mother, and later shooting his uncles.
The defence during mitigation of the sentence had argued that the court should be lenient during its sentencing because Skhosana was young when he committed the offence, and indicated that he had been intoxicated, a claim which the court indicated could be used as an aggravating factor because Skhosana knew he acted violently when drunk, but proceeded to drink regardless. His lawyer further told the court that Skhosana and his family have since forgiven each other.
Numerous victim impact statements were read in court, which labelled Skhosana as a humble person, who, however, turns very violent and uncontrollable when drunk.
The state indicated to the court that because of this incident, the relationship between the Maisela and the Skhosana family has been completely destroyed.
Sentencing
• The court further sentenced Skhosana to 12 months for each count of assault with intent (36 months), which will run concurrently with the count of attempted murder.
• Nine months imprisonment for common assault, running concurrently with the count of attempted murder.
• A three-year sentence for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, to run concurrently with the murder count.
The court also declared Skhosana unfit to possess a firearm.
The Middelburg Observer spoke to a representative of Themba Maisela’s family to find out how they felt about the sentencing.
She told the Middelburg Observer that her family were pleased because Skhosana was roaming free since the murder. She said they accept the sentence and feel that justice was served at last.
