The NPA has welcomed the sentence handed down to Gideon Sabata Mdlane for the triple murder he committed in May 2022.

Mdlane was sentenced to three life imprisonment terms plus 15 years, following his conviction on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The Gauteng High Court found that the gruesome killings by the accused amounted to premeditated murder.

On the day of the incident, at their residences in Diepkloof, Soweto, Mdlane got into an argument with his wife, Gcinibusile Mbata, in which he stabbed her several times in the body. He fetched two more knives from the kitchen and proceeded to stab his three children aged one, five and seven.

The NPA said Mdlane then called a relative to tell them what he had done before attempting to commit suicide.

“When Mdlane was done stabbing his family, he then called a relative to tell them what he had done. He then hung himself from a plank in the ceiling with an electric cord.

“The plank broke, and he fell to the floor. After the first suicide attempt failed, Mdlane drank Jeyes fluid mixed with car battery water, but it was unsuccessful,” NPA Gauteng spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane detailed in a statement.

His wife and two children died on the scene, while the five-year-old child and Mdlane were taken to hospital. Mdlane was then arrested at the hospital.

Court proceedings

In court, the NPA said, senior state advocate Rolene Barnard argued that the facts placed before the court amount to premeditated murder and the accused should be found guilty as such.

The acting judge, AJ Allie, agreed with the state that the accused’s actions in this case evidenced ‘premeditation’.

“The accused was on his way to the garage when he changed his mind and decided that he wanted to inflict pain on his wife.

“He did this with intention. As for the minor children, the accused, again in his own words, decided that the children should not be left orphans and they must be killed.

“The court can think of no other intention in the circumstances of the killing of the children than that of dolus directus,” said Allie, delivering his sentence.

“The NPA lauds the efforts of advocate Rolene Barnard and investigation officer Captain Vinny Saunders in ensuring that Mdlane is sent to prison. Gender-based violence cannot be tolerated,” asserted Mjonondwane.