The Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu Natal has sentenced Elias Delisani Mkhize (54) to double life for the brutal murder of his mother and sister in December last year. Mkhize, from Mid-Illovo area outside Durban, accused the two women of bewitching him before he shot them, beheaded them and threw their heads inside a pit toilet.

KZN National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Mkhize who lived in the same area as his mother, Mathithi Mkhize (87) and sister Celiwe Mkhize (39) pleaded guilty to their murder last month. "Prior to the incident, Mkhize suspected his mother and sister of bewitching him and he decided to kill them. On 20 December 2023, he armed himself with his unlicensed firearm and proceeded to their home which was a short distance away. He shot them both and then used a bush knife to decapitate them. He disposed of their heads at a nearby pit toilet," Kara said, adding that the convicted murderer was arrested a few hours later after the incident.

In aggravation of sentence, Prosecutor Melumzi Gula handed in a victim impact statement compiled by Mathithi's son, Gula Mkhize and facilitated by the court preparation manager Xolile Mzobe. In his statement, the man said that his life changed on the day he received the call to say that his mother and sister were dead. Kara said that Gula said that he could not understand why his brother would kill his family members in such a brutal way. "He added that the images he saw following their murder will remain with him for a long time. Mkhize was sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the murders and 10 years imprisonment for the possession of an unlicensed firearm. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in the effective sentence of life imprisonment. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm," she said.