Sibongiseni Nhlanhla Magagula (25) was sentenced to life and 20 years imprisonment in the Pongola Regional court today after being convicted of murder, attempted murder and two counts of kidnapping involving two young boys.

The incidents happened in June last year in the Pongola area. The first complainant, a 5 year old boy was kidnapped by the accused and dragged into a field where the accused attempted to throttle him.  His screams alerted a passer-by who ran to the scene. The accused fled leaving the child behind.

The accused then kidnapped the second complainant, a four-year-old boy and killed him. The dismembered remains of the child were later discovered.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv. Cyril Selepe prosecuted the matter and led the evidence of several child witnesses (including the first complainant) as well as the passer-by in the first incident. The children testified in an open court and proved to be reliable and confident witnesses.

A seven-year-old  witness told the court that he saw the accused walking with the deceased. Later when he heard that the deceased was missing, the child alerted the community members and the accused was arrested.

The accused was sentenced to life for the murder charge, five years imprisonment for each of the kidnapping charges and 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder. The sentences will run concurrently with that of life.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in KZN, Adv. Moipone Noko welcomes the conviction and sentencing in this matter. “I feel that the sentence is appropriate given the circumstances of this case. As the NPA we believe that justice has been done. However, the painful part is that an innocent child has lost his life. This sentence exhibits our stance that crime will not be tolerated.”