5 life sentences for ‘Bergville massacre’ killer

The man who stabbed and killed five of his family members in the Bethany area of Bergville on October 12 has been sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment. The harsh sentence was handed down to Mlamuli Mondli Khoza (28) by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday (December 6) after he pleaded guilty (Section 112 Plea).

The mass stabbing shocked the Bergville community and the entire KZN. Khoza’s conviction comes as a relief, even to his family, as they called for him to ‘die in prison’ and said they ‘don’t want to see him outside’.

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According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Khoza said in his plea that on the day before the murders, he had been watching soccer and drinking at a tavern. He suspected that, at some point, someone put something in his drink. The following day, he was at home when his aunt and her family came over to visit. They were sitting at the dining room table when his mother offered him some food. He became angry and ignored her because, for some time, he suspected that his mother had bewitched him.

Khoza went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He returned to the dining room, where he stabbed his relatives, including three adults (one male and two females) and two young children. He then fled the scene, taking the knife with him. When he returned later, the police were at his home and he handed himself over to them.

Now he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

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