The man who is serving life imprisonment wants answers as to why he spent more than 15-years in jail yet the man he allegedly killed is alive.
THE SENTENCING
Sipho Madonsela (47) and his friend Mthandeni Shange (45) were both sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 after they were accused of killing Dumezweni Innocent Ndlovu from Durban (Dbn) in KwaZulu Natal (KZN). Madonsela and Shange said that on the day they were arrested, they claim that they were busy washing cars in Blue Lagoon in Dbn as it was their daily business. "We were shocked to be arrested for the murder of Dumezweni Ndlovu whomwe have never met before. We were told that there were witnesses that saw us stabbing Dumezweni in Durban CBD killing him instantly. During the cross examination, there was a 15-year old key state witness who said he saw us killing Dumezweni. "The story of the witness was very weak and on the same year we were sentenced to life imprisonment each. We tried everything in the book to appeal the decision and to prove our innocence but the magistrate did not want to hear us. We ended up abandoning our appealing and accepted our faith," he said.
MINISTER?S VISIT
Madonsela and Shange?s innocence was proven when they went to visit the Ndlovu family to do the Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) in Pinetown in 2021. "When we went to visit the Ndlovu family, we were shocked to find Dumezweni alive. I shared my story on how I wanted to meet the family of the person that I had killed. I did all of this to prove my innocence. I wanted to give free from jail. We ended up not doing the VOD as it was clear that I was wrongfully arrested. "After our visit to the Ndlovu family, I wrote the letter to Minister of Correctional Services Ronald Lamola informing him about us serving time for the crime we did not commit. "I was eventually released from prison in 2023 and now I want answers as to why I ended up in jail for the crime. I never committed. Lamola did come to visit me in Westville prison but that was the only time I ever heard from him. I was told he took my file to go through it there is nothing happening. I’m still trying to get justice because they destroyed my life," he said. Ndlovu confirmed that he was still alive. "In 2004 some woman did fraud using my name. I was told by Home Affairs that I was no more and that there was a woman that claimed money using my name. Funeral policies and other assets were taken away from me, my bank accounts were shut down and I ended up losing my services because of the alleged death," he said.
NO COMMENTS
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said that his department does not get involved in the prosecution matters. "Correctional Services does not get involved on prosecutions and sentencing of people. We are at the tail end of the process. We only get involved when a person is brought to us with a warrant of detention. Hence, we do not even fetch people to come start serving their sentences, they are brought to us," he said. National Prosecution Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga refused to comment and referred ZiMoja to KZN NPA spokesperson Ramkisson-Kara. When Ramkisson-Kara was contacted for comment she said: "The NPA has acknowledged the query and has requested further clarification or information in order assist further," she said.
