Nkosiphendule Somhlahlo, 27, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after being found guilty by the Mthatha High Court of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
According to a report by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), in May of this year, he was staying with his sister at their home in Ntlilini village in Libode. With no argument or reason, Somhlahlo took out a knife and stabbed his sister in the thigh and back.
The 27-year-old ran into a room with his sister’s three-year-old child, and when he got there, he stabbed the child to death. After that, he proceeded to the room where the tenant lives, where he stabbed and killed the eight-year-old child of the tenant. The report goes on to say that Somhlahlo’s brother tried to intervene and stop him, but he was also stabbed in the back by Somhlahlo.
NPA spokesperson in the Eastern Cape, Luxolo Tyali said that according to the report released by the court, Somhlahlo is a drug user.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder before the Magistrate’s Court.
The court sentenced him to 20 years for each murder and sentenced him to 10 years for each attempted murder, which added up to 50 years in prison.
Somhlahlo’s lawyer presented evidence that he dropped out of school at an early age due to involvement in drugs. When questioned about the day he went on a killing spree, he said he was under the influence of drugs because he did not know why he killed the children.
State attorney, Banele Mhlongo said in court that Somhlahlo can blame nobody but himself because he was the one who got into drugs.
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